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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  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. can — a tin
  2. prune — to trim
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. bark — to shout
  5. cold — not warm
  6. can — to be able to
  7. clip — to cut
  8. staff — employees
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. clip — a video
  12. plane — a tool
  13. ball — a dance
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. staff — employees
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ball — a great time
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. can — a tin
  22. clip — for paper
  23. staff — a stick
  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