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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 124 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mark — a grade
  4. bark — to shout
  5. cold — not warm
  6. band — a ring
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. cold — an illness
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. dip — to sink
  17. band — a music group
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. mark — a trace
  24. band — a rubber band

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