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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. last — final
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. last — to go on
  6. bark — to shout
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. root — of a plant
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. mate — a friend
  13. land — a country
  14. mate — to breed
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. root — the cause
  17. land — to come down
  18. wound — an injury
  19. last — finally
  20. land — ground
  21. root — of a word
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mate — a partner
  24. prune — to trim

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