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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. land — ground
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. land — to come down
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. content — happy
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. chip — for betting
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. chip — to eat
  14. land — a country
  15. bark — to shout
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. rule — a law
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — in a race
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. rule — government

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