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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. object — to protest
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. scale — size or range
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. capital — money
  8. mine — for digging
  9. object — an aim
  10. lie — to recline
  11. prune — to trim
  12. capital — a city
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. object — a thing
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — a position
  19. bark — to shout
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. ground — the earth
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. scale — in music
  24. mine — belonging to me

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