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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. ground — the earth
  4. content — the amount
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. fall — the season
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. content — happy
  14. stand — to bear
  15. fall — to drop
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — a partner
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. fall — to drop
  24. patient — a sick person

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