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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. content — happy
  3. track — to keep track
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. can — to be able to
  7. kid — child
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. pass — a permit
  11. can — a tin
  12. track — a song
  13. track — a path
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — low music
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. can — a tin
  20. content — the amount
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bark — to shout

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