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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. row — to paddle
  3. bark — to shout
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. content — the amount
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cold — not warm
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — a line
  19. cold — an illness
  20. ground — a position
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. content — happy
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. squash — to crush

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