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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 120 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: coach · can · spell · bark · game · face · content · net

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. spell — letters
  3. can — a tin
  4. net — after costs
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bark — to shout
  7. game — a match
  8. face — to point toward
  9. content — happy
  10. can — to be able to
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. face — part of the head
  15. spell — magic
  16. face — to confront
  17. content — the amount
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. can — a tin
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. net — in sport
  22. game — wild animals
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. net — for catching

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