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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bark — to shout
  10. kick — in football
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. file — a document
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. file — a tool
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. file — a line of people
  20. squash — the sport
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. season — in sport
  24. cabinet — ministers

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