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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. mug — a cup
  6. stand — to bear
  7. lean — thin
  8. bat — the animal
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. mug — a face
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. mug — to rob
  16. lean — to bend
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bark — to shout
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — on your feet

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