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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wound · swing · spring · bark · squash · ball · pound · degree

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. swing — to play on
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. degree — an amount
  5. spring — of water
  6. ball — a great time
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pound — a weight
  9. swing — in golf
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. ball — a dance
  15. swing — music
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. spring — a coil
  22. degree — temperature
  23. squash — to crush
  24. spring — the season

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