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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.

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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. content — happy
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. current — happening now
  14. content — the amount
  15. current — of water
  16. pitch — completely
  17. squash — the sport
  18. current — electric

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