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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: content · rush · march · firm · chair · mine · foot · bark

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. content — the amount
  4. march — the month
  5. bark — to shout
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. march — the month
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. firm — a company
  15. content — happy
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. firm — steady
  19. firm — decided
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. rush — hurry
  22. mine — for digging
  23. foot — a measure
  24. march — music

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