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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. bound — certain
  3. march — music
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bank — for money
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bound — obliged
  9. kid — to tease
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. kid — child
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bank — for money
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — the season
  18. bark — to shout
  19. march — the month
  20. bound — tied together
  21. snap — to click
  22. march — the month
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. spring — a coil

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