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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: bark · chest · squash · charge · net · wind · row · swing

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. row — a line
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. squash — to crush
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. net — after costs
  8. charge — in control
  9. row — to paddle
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wind — moving air
  14. charge — electricity
  15. swing — in golf
  16. squash — the sport
  17. net — in sport
  18. chest — a box
  19. charge — a price
  20. net — for catching
  21. swing — music
  22. wind — moving air
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bark — to shout

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