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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. track — a path
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — music
  11. track — to keep track
  12. hand — help
  13. prune — to trim
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. swing — in golf
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. land — to come down
  21. track — a song
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — a friend

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