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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bark — to shout
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. club — for dancing
  6. craft — boats
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. race — the arms race
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — to tire
  14. charge — a price
  15. race — humankind
  16. squash — the sport
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. race — a contest
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. club — for golf
  22. charge — in control
  23. charge — electricity
  24. club — a group

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