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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: saw · band · kid · bark · bass · wound · suit · squash

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bass — low music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bark — to shout
  8. suit — clothes
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wound — an injury
  12. band — a music group
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. suit — to fit
  16. kid — child
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — to crush
  19. suit — in cards
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — the fish
  24. band — a ring

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