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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. tear — from crying
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. rush — hurry
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bark — to shout
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. present — there
  17. present — a gift
  18. tear — to rip

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