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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. degree — from a university
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. cold — not warm
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bark — to shout
  12. degree — an amount
  13. tube — a container
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. cold — an illness
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. degree — temperature

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