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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. court — for sport
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. can — a tin
  5. content — happy
  6. bark — to shout
  7. row — to paddle
  8. court — of law
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. row — a line
  13. can — a tin
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. rock — a stone
  20. kick — in football
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. court — of a king
  23. can — to be able to
  24. rock — to move gently

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