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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. scale — size or range
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. row — a line
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. plane — a tool
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bark — to shout
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bore — to drill
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. row — to paddle
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. scale — in music
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bore — to tire
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chair — a leader
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. chair — to sit on

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