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

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wake — a trail
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. file — a line of people
  12. prune — to trim
  13. content — happy
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. drill — a practice
  16. file — a document
  17. rash — hasty
  18. drill — army training
  19. content — the amount
  20. rash — a series
  21. file — a tool
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bear — the animal
  24. content — videos and posts

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