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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
468
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: stock · track · cabinet · content · bark · perch · kick · jam

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. stock — shares
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — to shout
  7. track — a song
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. track — to keep track
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. perch — the fish
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stock — goods
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. content — the amount
  22. track — a path
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. jam — a tight spot

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