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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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. nail — for a hammer
  4. mate — to breed
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. mate — a partner
  7. object — a thing
  8. bass — low music
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bass — the fish
  11. mate — a friend
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — to protest
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. capital — a city
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. capital — money
  24. bark — to shout

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