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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. prune — to trim
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. spell — letters
  8. current — happening now
  9. bark — to shout
  10. pop — soda
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — magic
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. pop — to visit
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. pop — music
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. current — of water
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. current — electric

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