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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. ground — a position
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — to shout
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. charge — electricity
  10. clip — a video
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. charge — a price
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the fish
  19. clip — for paper
  20. charge — in control
  21. ground — crushed
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. ground — the earth
  24. chair — to sit on

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