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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. pit — in a race
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bound — certain
  6. field — farmland
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. pit — a hole
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. bound — tied together
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. bark — to shout
  15. field — a subject
  16. hand — help
  17. bound — obliged
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. prune — to trim
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. field — for sport
  23. squash — the sport
  24. prune — to trim

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