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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. swing — in golf
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. scale — size or range
  9. root — of a plant
  10. spring — the season
  11. root — the cause
  12. swing — music
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. spring — of water
  15. dip — to sink
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. spring — a coil
  19. squash — the sport
  20. scale — in music
  21. bark — to shout
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. squash — to crush
  24. root — of a word

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