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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  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. bark — to shout
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wound — an injury
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. wind — moving air
  6. content — the amount
  7. land — to come down
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. content — happy
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. can — a tin
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. snap — to click
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ball — a dance
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. can — to be able to
  21. can — a tin
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ball — a great time
  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