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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: squash · content · bat · charge · bark · perch · date · vault

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. charge — a price
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. squash — the sport
  7. date — the fruit
  8. content — the amount
  9. bat — the animal
  10. vault — a safe
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. charge — electricity
  17. perch — the fish
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bark — to shout
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. charge — in control
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. content — happy

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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