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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 120 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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. firm — steady
  3. prune — to trim
  4. game — wild animals
  5. swing — music
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. game — a match
  8. squash — to crush
  9. swing — in golf
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. prune — to trim
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. swing — to play on
  22. firm — decided
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. bark — to shout

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