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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.

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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. tear — from crying
  4. squash — to crush
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cue — for pool
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cue — a signal
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. game — a match
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. game — wild animals

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