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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. present — the time now
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. band — a ring
  7. bark — to shout
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. wake — a trail
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — a series
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. present — there
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. present — a gift
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. band — a music group

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