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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. squash — to crush
  8. scale — size or range
  9. snap — to click
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. scale — in music
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. last — to go on
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. last — finally
  20. prune — to trim
  21. last — final
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. fine — high quality

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