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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. kid — to tease
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the sport
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. kid — child
  9. rock — a stone
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. bark — to shout
  14. rock — music
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. stock — goods
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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