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

Word bank: bark · tear · fine · wake · bear · content · court · arm

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bark — to shout
  3. content — happy
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. content — the amount
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. court — of law
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bear — the animal
  13. court — of a king
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. fine — all right
  18. tear — from crying
  19. court — for sport
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. wake — a trail
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. fine — high quality

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