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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: land · march · face · pop · bark · content · calf · sharp

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — to shout
  4. face — to point toward
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — music
  7. march — the month
  8. content — the amount
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. land — a country
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. content — happy
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to confront
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. land — to come down
  18. march — the month
  19. pop — to visit
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. march — music
  22. land — ground
  23. sharp — clever
  24. calf — of the leg

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