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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: hand · can · bark · wake · face · content · toast · game

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — the amount
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. toast — bread
  7. hand — help
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. hand — in cards
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. face — to confront
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. face — part of the head
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. game — a match
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — to be able to
  23. face — to point toward
  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