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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: saw · bark · spring · row · game · content · bowl · kid

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. content — happy
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. saw — the tool
  6. spring — of water
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. row — to paddle
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. row — a line
  12. spring — a coil
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. game — wild animals
  16. kid — to tease
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. kid — child
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. content — the amount
  21. spring — the season
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. game — a match

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