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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bark — to shout
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. craft — boats
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. squash — the sport
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. present — there
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. craft — a skill
  19. pound — a weight
  20. present — the time now
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. present — a gift
  24. bat — for baseball

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