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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. bound — tied together
  4. capital — money
  5. pop — music
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. fine — high quality
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. prune — to trim
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. capital — a city
  15. pop — soda
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bound — obliged
  20. dip — to sink
  21. fine — all right
  22. bound — certain
  23. bark — to shout
  24. squash — the vegetable

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