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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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. pit — in a race
  3. bass — the fish
  4. pit — a hole
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bass — low music
  8. rest — a break
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. shower — rain
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. squash — the sport
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bark — to shout
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. shower — to wash
  22. mine — for digging
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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