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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. row — a line
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. fine — high quality
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. content — the amount
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — happy
  15. bark — to shout
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. track — to keep track
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — for digging
  21. track — a path
  22. track — a song
  23. row — to paddle
  24. fine — all right

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