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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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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: pit · fine · land · calf · stick · scale · content · bark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — to shout
  5. land — a country
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. content — the amount
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. scale — in music
  10. pit — in a race
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. land — ground
  13. fine — all right
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. scale — size or range
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. content — happy
  20. fine — high quality
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. land — to come down
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. pit — a hole

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