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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. tear — from crying
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. content — the amount
  7. file — a tool
  8. tear — from crying
  9. can — a tin
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bark — to shout
  14. swing — in golf
  15. can — to be able to
  16. net — after costs
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — music
  19. content — happy
  20. file — a document
  21. net — in sport
  22. can — a tin
  23. net — for catching
  24. file — a line of people

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