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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 116 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. tear — from crying
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. row — to paddle
  9. content — the amount
  10. track — a path
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. track — a song
  14. content — happy
  15. row — a line
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. track — to keep track
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. tear — from crying
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bulb — of a plant

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