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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: plane · band · bark · land · content · stick · mark · kick

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. land — a country
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. band — a music group
  7. content — the amount
  8. plane — a tool
  9. band — a ring
  10. land — ground
  11. kick — in football
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bark — to shout
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a trace
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. mark — a grade
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. land — to come down

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