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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. capital — money
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. capital — a city
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. fall — the season
  17. pop — music
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. shower — rain
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. foot — a measure
  24. pop — soda

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