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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 124 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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. tube — the underground
  6. content — happy
  7. stock — goods
  8. rash — a series
  9. land — a country
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. stock — shares
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. land — ground
  15. content — the amount
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bark — to shout
  19. rash — hasty
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. land — to come down
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. tube — a container

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