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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 116 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: trunk · bowl · fine · can · content · game · spring · bark

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fine — high quality
  3. content — the amount
  4. can — a tin
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. can — a tin
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. game — wild animals
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bark — to shout
  12. spring — the season
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. fine — all right
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. can — to be able to
  22. spring — of water
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. game — a match

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