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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. key — in music
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rash — hasty
  10. bass — low music
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. pop — to visit
  13. key — for a lock
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bark — to shout
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — happy
  18. wake — a trail
  19. fork — in a road
  20. pop — music
  21. key — the most important part
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. rash — a series

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