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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. swing — music
  6. squash — to crush
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. content — the amount
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. swing — in golf
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. squash — the sport
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. content — happy
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. bark — to shout
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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