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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · ground · racket · rock · rash · squash · bark · wind

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rash — hasty
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — a series
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. wind — moving air
  8. squash — the sport
  9. ground — the earth
  10. rock — a stone
  11. land — a country
  12. wind — moving air
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. ground — a position
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rock — music
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. ground — crushed

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