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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. march — the month
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. plane — a tool
  13. march — the month
  14. wound — an injury
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. club — a group
  17. bark — to shout
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. club — for golf
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. march — music
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — to crush

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