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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. bark — to shout
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. squash — the sport
  6. field — for sport
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. squash — to crush
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. field — farmland
  11. board — a committee
  12. can — a tin
  13. prune — to trim
  14. can — a tin
  15. content — the amount
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. prune — to trim
  18. spring — a coil
  19. board — to get on
  20. field — a subject
  21. spring — of water
  22. can — to be able to
  23. spring — the season
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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