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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 116 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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. content — happy
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. rule — a law
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. spring — of water
  10. object — to protest
  11. content — the amount
  12. spring — the season
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. ball — a great time
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — government
  19. object — a thing
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bark — to shout
  22. lean — thin
  23. object — an aim
  24. lean — to bend

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