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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bark — to shout
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. board — a committee
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — low music
  17. content — happy
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. content — the amount
  20. chair — a leader
  21. row — to paddle
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a flat piece

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