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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 120 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. chest — a box
  3. rule — a law
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rest — what's left
  7. craft — boats
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. rest — a break
  10. craft — a skill
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — to bear
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. squash — to crush
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rest — what's left
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rule — government
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. chest — of your body

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