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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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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: bark · present · content · toast · racket · wind · land · patient

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. toast — bread
  3. wind — moving air
  4. land — a country
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. content — the amount
  9. land — to come down
  10. present — the time now
  11. present — a gift
  12. content — happy
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bark — to shout
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. land — ground
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. present — there

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