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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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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: pound · mate · hide · band · bark · squash · foot · hand

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. mate — a partner
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bark — to shout
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. hand — help
  10. band — a ring
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. band — a music group
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. mate — to breed
  16. pound — a weight
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. squash — to crush
  19. hand — in cards
  20. foot — a measure
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. mate — a friend
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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