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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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Word bank
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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: squash · bowl · racket · plane · cold · chair · bark · staff

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. squash — to crush
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. staff — employees
  12. plane — a tool
  13. bark — to shout
  14. chair — a leader
  15. staff — a stick
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. staff — employees
  24. squash — the vegetable

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