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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 · tube · cold · plane · root · pit · bark · mark

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cold — not warm
  3. tube — the underground
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — the cause
  6. mark — a grade
  7. content — happy
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a trace
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. root — of a plant
  17. pit — a hole
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. pit — in a race
  21. tube — a container
  22. cold — an illness
  23. plane — a tool
  24. bark — of a tree

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