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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. ground — the earth
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. track — to keep track
  9. content — happy
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bark — to shout
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ground — crushed
  19. track — a song
  20. content — the amount
  21. track — a path
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. ground — a position

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