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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. clip — a video
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. land — to come down
  9. bark — to shout
  10. lean — thin
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bass — low music
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. lean — to bend
  22. squash — the sport
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — the instrument

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