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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  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. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — to shout
  3. clip — a video
  4. fine — all right
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. can — a tin
  8. clip — for paper
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. can — a tin
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. content — happy
  13. rash — hasty
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. content — the amount
  17. can — to be able to
  18. rash — a series
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fork — in a road
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. rash — on the skin
  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