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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bore — to tire
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bark — to shout
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. content — the amount
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. present — a gift
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. content — happy
  22. present — there
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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