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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 120 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. squash — to crush
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cell — in biology
  10. hand — in cards
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. board — to get on
  14. band — a music group
  15. squash — the sport
  16. band — a ring
  17. board — a committee
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. hand — help
  21. rush — hurry
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. rush — to hurry

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