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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mark — a grade
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. ground — a position
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a cake
  9. prune — to trim
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. ground — crushed
  13. band — a ring
  14. roll — a list
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. prune — to trim
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bark — to shout
  20. band — a music group
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. mark — a trace
  24. ground — the earth

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