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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: land · content · temple · squash · bulb · bark · swing · rest

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. rest — what's left
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. rest — what's left
  6. swing — music
  7. land — a country
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. land — ground
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the sport
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — happy
  14. land — to come down
  15. bulb — for light
  16. content — the amount
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. rest — a break
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bulb — for light
  24. swing — in golf

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