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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
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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: fall · content · dip · bark · key · can · clip · chest

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. content — happy
  3. chest — a box
  4. key — in music
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. chest — of your body
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bark — to shout
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. can — a tin
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. clip — a video
  15. fall — to drop
  16. dip — to sink
  17. key — the most important part
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. fall — the season
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. content — the amount
  22. fall — to drop
  23. key — for a lock
  24. can — a tin

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