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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: toast · bark · bat · foot · pound · rash · content · dip

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. foot — a measure
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. toast — bread
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. rash — hasty
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. bark — to shout
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. rash — a series
  19. bat — the animal
  20. pound — a weight
  21. content — happy
  22. content — the amount
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pound — to hit hard

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