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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  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 — of a tree
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bark — to shout
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. bore — to tire
  7. snap — to click
  8. prune — to trim
  9. band — a ring
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. season — in sport
  12. bass — low music
  13. season — of the year
  14. band — a music group
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bore — to drill
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bass — the instrument
  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