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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · bark · content · mine · arm · stock

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. stock — shares
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. content — the amount
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. spring — of water
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. content — happy
  16. stock — goods
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bark — to shout

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