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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 116 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  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. scale — size or range
  2. spell — magic
  3. press — a publisher
  4. content — the amount
  5. bark — to shout
  6. court — of a king
  7. spell — letters
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. scale — in music
  10. press — to push
  11. court — of law
  12. content — happy
  13. spell — a short time
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. court — for sport
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. press — newspapers
  23. mouse — the animal
  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