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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: roll · present · patient · bass · content · game · mark · bark

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. game — wild animals
  3. present — a gift
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. game — a match
  7. roll — a list
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. mark — a trace
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. present — there
  14. bass — low music
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bass — the fish
  17. content — the amount
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. bark — to shout
  22. mark — a grade
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. present — the time now

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