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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. chip — to eat
  3. content — happy
  4. pop — soda
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — a trail
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fine — all right
  14. pop — to visit
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. content — the amount
  17. fine — high quality
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. race — a contest
  21. bark — to shout
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pop — music
  24. race — humankind

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