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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: game · bark · content · bear · kick · staff · rule · trunk

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. content — happy
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bark — to shout
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. staff — employees
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. content — the amount
  18. rule — a law
  19. game — wild animals
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. kick — in football
  22. game — a match
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. staff — a stick

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