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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 120 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: mark · key · land · mine · content · bark · row · plane

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. mark — a trace
  3. land — to come down
  4. content — the amount
  5. mine — for digging
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. land — ground
  11. bark — to shout
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. content — happy
  14. key — for a lock
  15. land — a country
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — a line
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. key — the most important part
  23. mark — a grade
  24. row — to paddle

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