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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 120 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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cap — a hat
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. cap — a lid
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. cold — not warm
  14. squash — the sport
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chair — a leader
  19. cold — an illness
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. squash — to crush
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. mouse — the animal

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