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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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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: bat · content · wound · pop · squash · bark · wave · season

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. pop — music
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pop — to visit
  8. content — the amount
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. season — in sport
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. season — of the year
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. bark — to shout
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wound — an injury
  21. content — happy
  22. pop — soda
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bark — of a tree

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