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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. tube — the underground
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. face — to confront
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bark — to shout
  12. face — to point toward
  13. squash — to crush
  14. swing — to play on
  15. squash — the sport
  16. game — wild animals
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. tube — a container
  22. swing — music
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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