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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 120 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. present — the time now
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. bark — to shout
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chip — for betting
  8. present — a gift
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. content — the amount
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — to eat
  15. present — there
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. chest — a box
  23. content — happy
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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