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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: key · squash · suit · game · bat · bark · roll · drill

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bat — the animal
  6. drill — army training
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. key — the most important part
  15. key — in music
  16. squash — the sport
  17. suit — to fit
  18. roll — a list
  19. game — wild animals
  20. roll — a cake
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. drill — a practice
  23. squash — to crush
  24. suit — clothes

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