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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bear — the animal
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. pop — to visit
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pop — music
  10. bear — the animal
  11. content — happy
  12. content — the amount
  13. stem — to come from
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. scale — in music
  16. bark — to shout
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. snap — to click
  23. pop — soda
  24. scale — size or range

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