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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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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: bowl · kid · content · bark · kick · band · racket · squash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. squash — the sport
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. kid — child
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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