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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 116 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mine — for digging
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wound — an injury
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bark — to shout
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. board — a committee
  11. board — to get on
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. last — final
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. last — finally
  17. last — to go on
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. wound — an injury
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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