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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. squash — to crush
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spring — a coil
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wind — moving air
  16. saw — the tool
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. spring — of water
  19. bark — to shout
  20. squash — the sport
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hide — to keep secret

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