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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. content — the amount
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. key — in music
  6. ground — a position
  7. content — happy
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. craft — a skill
  11. bark — to shout
  12. stem — to come from
  13. key — for a lock
  14. ground — the earth
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bulb — for light
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bulb — for light
  21. key — the most important part
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — a stem cell

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