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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. pound — a weight
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. content — the amount
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. content — happy
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. bat — the animal
  15. rest — what's left
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. fine — all right
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rest — a break
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. fine — high quality
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. perch — the fish

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