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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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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: bound · swing · temple · land · bark · pitcher · kick · squash

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bound — certain
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. swing — music
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. land — a country
  9. bound — tied together
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. squash — to crush
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. swing — in golf
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. squash — the sport
  16. land — to come down
  17. swing — to play on
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. land — ground
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. kick — in football
  24. bound — obliged

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