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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. current — happening now
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bark — to shout
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cell — a phone
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. current — electric
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. band — a music group
  13. shower — rain
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. current — of water
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. content — happy
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — thin
  23. content — the amount
  24. lean — to bend

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