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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. drill — army training
  4. suit — clothes
  5. suit — to fit
  6. squash — to crush
  7. drill — a practice
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. chest — a box
  10. branch — a division
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. drill — the tool
  13. swing — music
  14. capital — money
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. suit — in cards
  17. swing — in golf
  18. capital — a city
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. squash — the sport
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. swing — to play on

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