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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bark — to shout
  4. track — a path
  5. scale — size or range
  6. scale — in music
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — to bend
  10. game — wild animals
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. lean — thin
  13. track — a song
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bore — to tire
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. game — a match
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. bore — to drill
  23. prune — to trim
  24. sharp — with an edge

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