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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bark — to shout
  9. prune — to trim
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. rush — hurry
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. prune — to trim
  20. branch — a division
  21. present — the time now
  22. present — there
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. prune — the fruit

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