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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 116 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: board · season · court · row · bark · saw · squash · bass

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. bass — low music
  3. board — a committee
  4. bass — the fish
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. squash — the sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. court — of a king
  11. board — to get on
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. season — in sport
  15. bark — to shout
  16. squash — to crush
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. court — for sport
  20. saw — the tool
  21. court — of law
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. row — to paddle

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