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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. fine — all right
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. last — finally
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. capital — money
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. row — to paddle
  13. content — the amount
  14. capital — a city
  15. fine — high quality
  16. bark — to shout
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. row — a line
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — final
  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