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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. pop — to visit
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. squash — the sport
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. pop — soda
  12. spring — a coil
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. pop — music
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — letters
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. chair — a leader
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — of water
  23. bark — to shout
  24. coach — a trainer

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