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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. scale — size or range
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. saw — the tool
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. squash — to crush
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. scale — in music
  16. bark — to shout
  17. cap — a lid
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cap — of ice
  20. prune — to trim
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. game — a match

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