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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. drill — the tool
  3. last — finally
  4. drill — army training
  5. bank — for money
  6. drill — a practice
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. content — happy
  9. ground — a position
  10. last — to go on
  11. mark — a trace
  12. ground — crushed
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. bank — for money
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mark — a grade
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bank — of a river
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. last — final
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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