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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pass — a permit
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. object — an aim
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. tube — the underground
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. object — to protest
  18. tube — a container
  19. bark — to shout
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. object — a thing
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. game — a match

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