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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. mark — a grade
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bass — low music
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mark — a trace
  13. game — a match
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. bass — the fish
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bark — to shout
  20. squash — to crush
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. plane — an aircraft

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