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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. squash — to crush
  3. march — music
  4. squash — the sport
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. shower — to wash
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bark — to shout
  15. march — the month
  16. shower — rain
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fine — all right
  20. march — the month
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. fine — high quality

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