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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: bark · club · roll · ground · squash · kid · wave · rash

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. kid — to tease
  3. ground — the earth
  4. squash — the sport
  5. ground — a position
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. roll — a cake
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. kid — child
  11. club — for dancing
  12. squash — to crush
  13. ground — crushed
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — a group
  24. wave — of the sea

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