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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. root — of a plant
  6. net — after costs
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cell — in biology
  13. squash — to crush
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. root — the cause
  17. net — for catching
  18. squash — the sport
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. root — of a word
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — in golf
  24. net — in sport

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