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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hand — in cards
  4. prune — to trim
  5. club — a group
  6. hand — help
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. wound — an injury
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. bark — to shout
  15. club — for dancing
  16. board — to get on
  17. club — for golf
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. deal — to handle
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. board — a committee

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