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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. content — happy
  3. cap — a lid
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cap — a hat
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. band — a music group
  9. bass — low music
  10. cap — of ice
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. season — in sport
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. board — to get on
  16. season — of the year
  17. net — for catching
  18. board — a committee
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. net — after costs
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. band — a ring
  24. content — the amount

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