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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: bark · bear · net · mark · wake · content · foot · pitch

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. mark — a trace
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. foot — a measure
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. bark — to shout
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. pitch — completely
  13. bear — the animal
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. net — in sport
  16. wake — a trail
  17. mark — a grade
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. content — happy
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — after costs
  23. bear — the animal
  24. wake — before a funeral

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