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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. spring — a coil
  14. fall — the season
  15. rock — a stone
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rock — music
  18. bark — to shout
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. band — a music group
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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