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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 120 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: bark · key · fan · cap · clip · court · saw · squash

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. squash — to crush
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. cap — of ice
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cap — a lid
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bark — to shout
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cap — a hat
  13. key — the most important part
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. key — in music
  16. key — for a lock
  17. clip — a video
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. court — of law
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — the vegetable

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