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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · squash · swing · drill · bark · kid

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. rule — a law
  3. squash — to crush
  4. rule — government
  5. swing — in golf
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. swing — music
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. swing — to play on
  14. drill — army training
  15. squash — the sport
  16. drill — the tool
  17. kid — child
  18. drill — a practice

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