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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. bark — to shout
  5. rash — a series
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wind — moving air
  8. present — the time now
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. present — there
  11. foot — a measure
  12. bat — the animal
  13. content — the amount
  14. rash — hasty
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. content — happy
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. pound — a weight
  24. wind — moving air

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