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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.

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: game · content · land · leaves · pitch · bark · staff · toast

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. staff — employees
  3. content — the amount
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — a country
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. toast — bread
  14. staff — employees
  15. land — ground
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. pitch — completely
  19. staff — a stick
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. game — a kind of play

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