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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. rash — hasty
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — happy
  8. game — a match
  9. lean — thin
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rash — a series
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — of a river
  20. game — wild animals
  21. lean — to bend
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bank — for money
  24. content — videos and posts

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