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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rock — music
  4. chest — a box
  5. court — of a king
  6. bark — to shout
  7. march — the month
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. march — the month
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. court — for sport
  16. chest — of your body
  17. season — of the year
  18. march — music
  19. rock — a stone
  20. mine — for digging
  21. court — of law
  22. season — in sport
  23. squash — the sport
  24. chest — of your body

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