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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  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. date — the fruit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bark — to shout
  4. row — to paddle
  5. clip — a video
  6. fork — in a road
  7. wound — an injury
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. row — a line
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. clip — for paper
  13. content — the amount
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. snap — to click
  20. clip — to cut
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. wound — an injury
  23. row — a quarrel
  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