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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. net — after costs
  5. bark — to shout
  6. vault — a safe
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. content — the amount
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. net — for catching
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. capital — a city
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. net — in sport
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. capital — money
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. content — happy

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