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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. suit — to fit
  8. suit — in cards
  9. content — the amount
  10. drill — a practice
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. drill — army training
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. kid — to tease
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bark — to shout
  18. kid — child
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. suit — clothes
  22. row — a line
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. mouse — the animal

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