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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: squash · face · season · bark · hand · band · mine · wake

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. face — to confront
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — of the year
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. hand — help
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. face — to point toward
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. squash — to crush
  16. band — a ring
  17. squash — the sport
  18. season — in sport
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. wake — a trail
  21. hand — in cards
  22. face — part of the head
  23. band — a music group
  24. mine — for digging

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