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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. rash — hasty
  5. branch — a division
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. net — after costs
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — a measure
  14. rash — a series
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bark — to shout
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bulb — for light
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. content — the amount

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