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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 120 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. mark — a grade
  4. rush — hurry
  5. fork — in a road
  6. bark — to shout
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. clip — a video
  14. prune — to trim
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mark — a trace
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. clip — for paper
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. clip — to cut
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — child
  24. calf — a young animal

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