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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. object — a thing
  4. cap — of ice
  5. prune — to trim
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. content — happy
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. spell — magic
  12. cap — a hat
  13. object — an aim
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. object — to protest
  17. rock — music
  18. prune — to trim
  19. spell — a short time
  20. content — the amount
  21. spell — letters
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — a position
  24. rock — a stone

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