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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: kick · mug · suit · bark · game · squash · land · spring

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. spring — the season
  2. bark — to shout
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mug — a face
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. land — to come down
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. mug — to rob
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. spring — a coil
  13. suit — clothes
  14. spring — of water
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. suit — to fit
  17. suit — in cards
  18. squash — to crush
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. kick — in football
  21. land — a country
  22. squash — the sport
  23. land — ground
  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