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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. season — of the year
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. squash — to crush
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. plane — a tool
  14. season — in sport
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. craft — a skill
  19. craft — boats
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. clip — a video
  23. dip — to sink
  24. clip — to cut

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