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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. roll — a list
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. chip — for betting
  5. present — a gift
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. field — a subject
  8. game — wild animals
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. content — happy
  11. present — there
  12. roll — a cake
  13. bark — to shout
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. chip — to eat
  16. ball — a great time
  17. content — the amount
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a dance
  20. field — for sport
  21. present — the time now
  22. game — a match
  23. field — farmland
  24. game — a kind of play

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