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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. squash — the sport
  4. suit — in cards
  5. plane — a tool
  6. cap — a lid
  7. spring — of water
  8. suit — clothes
  9. field — for sport
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. field — farmland
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. suit — to fit
  16. spring — the season
  17. cap — a hat
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. spring — a coil
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. field — a subject
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. chair — a leader

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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