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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: content · rush · season · mark · ground · bark · chest · tube

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. season — in sport
  5. tube — the underground
  6. content — the amount
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bark — to shout
  10. rush — hurry
  11. chest — a box
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. chest — of your body
  16. ground — a position
  17. tube — a container
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. season — of the year
  20. mark — a trace
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — the earth
  24. mark — a grade

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