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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. ground — a position
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. content — happy
  6. march — the month
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. march — music
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bark — to shout
  12. ground — crushed
  13. march — the month
  14. ground — the earth
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. date — the fruit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bark — of a tree

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