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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. present — the time now
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. spell — letters
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bat — the animal
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. present — there
  14. rule — a law
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. spell — a short time
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bark — to shout
  19. content — the amount
  20. present — a gift
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rule — government
  24. spell — magic

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com