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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: mug · squash · wind · mouse · pop · bark · land · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. squash — to crush
  3. pop — soda
  4. land — a country
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. wind — moving air
  8. land — to come down
  9. bark — to shout
  10. kid — child
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. pop — to visit
  13. land — ground
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. pop — music
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. mug — a face
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. mug — a cup
  23. squash — the sport
  24. mug — to rob

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