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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. court — for sport
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. ground — the earth
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. court — of a king
  12. bark — to shout
  13. tube — the underground
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. content — happy
  18. tube — a container
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — a position
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. court — of law
  23. sharp — clever
  24. perch — the fish

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