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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
468
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: bark · wave · roll · chest · can · cap · plane · content

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. content — the amount
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cap — a hat
  9. plane — a tool
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cap — a lid
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. roll — a cake
  14. content — happy
  15. can — to be able to
  16. cap — of ice
  17. chest — a box
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — a tin
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. roll — a list
  24. plane — an aircraft

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