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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. fine — all right
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. cell — in biology
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. swing — music
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. fine — high quality
  11. cell — a phone
  12. pop — to visit
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — music
  16. land — ground
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bark — to shout
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — to play on
  22. land — to come down
  23. wake — a trail
  24. land — a country

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