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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 120 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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. staff — a stick
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. staff — employees
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. staff — employees
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bark — to shout
  11. content — the amount
  12. sharp — clever
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. band — a ring
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. content — happy
  18. shower — rain
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. band — a music group
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bear — the animal
  23. rush — hurry
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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