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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. march — music
  3. bark — to shout
  4. ball — a dance
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. rush — hurry
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. game — wild animals
  12. ball — a great time
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. march — the month
  18. clip — to cut
  19. game — a match
  20. march — the month
  21. squash — to crush
  22. clip — a video
  23. squash — the sport
  24. rush — to hurry

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