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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. squash — the sport
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bound — obliged
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. content — happy
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. content — the amount
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bound — certain
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bound — tied together
  20. perch — the fish
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  24. court — of law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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