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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. staff — a stick
  5. wound — an injury
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. content — happy
  11. fall — to drop
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. content — the amount
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fall — to drop
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. fall — the season
  19. wound — an injury
  20. staff — employees
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. bowl — to roll

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