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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: present · fan · row · content · can · bark · snap · roll

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. roll — a cake
  4. row — a line
  5. present — a gift
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. row — to paddle
  8. can — to be able to
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. content — the amount
  16. snap — to click
  17. can — a tin
  18. present — the time now
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. can — a tin
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. present — there
  24. roll — a list

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