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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. drill — the tool
  5. squash — to crush
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bark — to shout
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. squash — the sport
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. band — a ring
  18. drill — a practice
  19. wind — moving air
  20. drill — army training
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. band — a music group
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. wind — moving air

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