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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 · bank · march · cap · spell · squash · game · content

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. march — the month
  4. cap — a hat
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bank — for money
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bank — of a river
  10. march — the month
  11. spell — a short time
  12. game — a match
  13. spell — magic
  14. cap — a lid
  15. game — wild animals
  16. march — music
  17. content — happy
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bank — for money
  22. content — the amount
  23. spell — letters
  24. content — videos and posts

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