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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rock — music
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. content — happy
  8. chip — for betting
  9. toast — bread
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. shower — rain
  13. bark — to shout
  14. shower — to wash
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. rock — a stone
  22. branch — a division
  23. chip — to eat
  24. branch — of a bank

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