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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: fork · net · snap · date · content · current · bark · scale

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. content — the amount
  4. scale — in music
  5. net — in sport
  6. date — the fruit
  7. current — of water
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. content — happy
  10. scale — size or range
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. current — happening now
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — in a road
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — for catching
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. current — electric
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. content — videos and posts
  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