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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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. staff — employees
  2. mug — to rob
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. mate — a friend
  6. content — happy
  7. bark — to shout
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mate — a partner
  10. chest — of your body
  11. content — the amount
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. mug — a cup
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. ball — a great time
  16. staff — a stick
  17. mug — a face
  18. mate — to breed
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. staff — employees
  21. ball — a dance
  22. chest — a box
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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