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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bark — to shout
  5. net — after costs
  6. bass — the fish
  7. track — a song
  8. spell — letters
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. spell — magic
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. squash — the sport
  14. spell — a short time
  15. board — to get on
  16. net — for catching
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a path
  19. net — in sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bass — low music
  23. board — a committee
  24. squash — the vegetable

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