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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
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: content · hide · bark · rash · kid · pitcher · mine · sharp

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. kid — to tease
  6. content — happy
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mine — for digging
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. content — the amount
  15. sharp — clever
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bark — to shout
  18. rash — a series
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. rash — hasty
  24. kid — child

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