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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  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. content — happy
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — for money
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. rock — a stone
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. content — the amount
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bank — of a river
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. land — ground
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. wound — an injury
  21. scale — in music
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bay — a horse colour
  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