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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  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. bay — a horse colour
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. current — happening now
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. game — a match
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cold — an illness
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. current — of water
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bark — to shout
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. current — electric
  21. content — the amount
  22. game — wild animals
  23. content — happy
  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