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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 116 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: chair · nail · bear · bark · content · lash · press · game

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bear — the animal
  3. game — wild animals
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. press — a publisher
  11. chair — a leader
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. press — to push
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. content — happy
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bear — the animal
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. chair — to sit on
  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