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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. hand — help
  7. kid — to tease
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bark — to shout
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. squash — the sport
  13. game — a match
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. staff — employees
  22. kid — child
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. staff — employees

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