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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. squash — to crush
  4. row — a line
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. saw — the tool
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cell — in biology
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. cell — a phone
  21. rash — a series
  22. row — to paddle
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rash — hasty

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