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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. march — the month
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. march — music
  5. chest — a box
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. march — the month
  9. chest — of your body
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — boats
  12. bass — low music
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. field — a subject
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. field — farmland
  18. squash — the sport
  19. field — for sport
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. pound — a weight
  24. trunk — of a car

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