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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. rock — a stone
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. squash — to crush
  8. march — music
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. drill — army training
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stand — to bear
  13. mine — for digging
  14. drill — a practice
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. march — the month
  17. bark — to shout
  18. march — the month
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. drill — the tool
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. rock — music

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