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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: field · net · rule · squash · rush · bark · mate · rash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — a friend
  8. rash — a series
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — in sport
  11. field — for sport
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. field — a subject
  14. rule — government
  15. net — for catching
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bark — to shout
  19. field — farmland
  20. rash — hasty
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. mate — to breed
  24. rule — a law

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