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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — high quality
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bark — to shout
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. game — a match
  10. rash — a series
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. content — happy
  13. rash — hasty
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. fall — the season
  16. game — wild animals
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. fall — to drop
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. fine — a penalty

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