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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. ground — a position
  6. fall — to drop
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. fall — the season
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — army training
  13. ground — the earth
  14. content — happy
  15. plane — a tool
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ground — crushed
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. bark — to shout
  21. fall — to drop
  22. content — the amount
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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