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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. net — in sport
  3. cue — for pool
  4. content — happy
  5. cue — a hint
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. track — to keep track
  9. net — for catching
  10. track — a song
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. bark — to shout
  15. saw — the tool
  16. field — farmland
  17. track — a path
  18. net — after costs
  19. content — the amount
  20. saw — the tool
  21. rush — hurry
  22. cue — a signal
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. content — videos and posts

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