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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 116 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. craft — boats
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. current — of water
  6. season — of the year
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. row — a line
  11. craft — a skill
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — electric
  21. row — to paddle
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — in sport
  24. bark — to shout

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