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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — the amount
  3. bark — to shout
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — size or range
  6. stock — shares
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. spring — of water
  10. chair — a leader
  11. spring — the season
  12. scale — in music
  13. spring — a coil
  14. content — happy
  15. rock — a stone
  16. current — of water
  17. current — electric
  18. rock — music
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. stock — goods
  21. current — happening now
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. chair — a professorship

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