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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. content — happy
  3. bear — the animal
  4. mate — to breed
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. lean — thin
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. bear — the animal
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. fine — all right
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — to bend
  19. mate — a partner
  20. content — the amount
  21. row — to paddle
  22. fine — high quality
  23. row — a line
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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