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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: wake · bark · face · wind · suit · squash · last · chest

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. suit — in cards
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. wind — moving air
  6. squash — to crush
  7. suit — to fit
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bark — to shout
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. last — to go on
  14. face — to point toward
  15. wake — a trail
  16. squash — the sport
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. face — to confront
  20. chest — a box
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. suit — clothes
  24. last — final

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