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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. firm — steady
  11. rash — hasty
  12. hand — help
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. firm — decided
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. firm — a company
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bark — to shout
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. rash — a series

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