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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. lie — to recline
  7. content — happy
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. club — a group
  10. prune — to trim
  11. content — the amount
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. club — for dancing
  14. cell — in biology
  15. squash — the sport
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bark — to shout
  20. prune — to trim
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. club — for golf
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. squash — to crush

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