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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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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: squash · chest · bay · arm · kid · wake · date · bear

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bear — the animal
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. wake — a trail
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. chest — a box
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. kid — child
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. date — the fruit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. chest — of your body
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bear — the animal

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