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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bound — obliged
  5. spring — of water
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. spring — the season
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bound — certain
  11. club — for golf
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bound — tied together
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bark — to shout
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. club — a group
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. spring — a coil
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a ring

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