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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 116 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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bark — to shout
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. tear — from crying
  6. march — the month
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. cell — in biology
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. march — the month
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cell — a phone
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. tear — to rip
  24. rush — to hurry

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