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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fall — the season
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bark — to shout
  10. prune — to trim
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. mine — for digging
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. wake — a trail

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