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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. prune — to trim
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. chest — of your body
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bark — to shout
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. prune — to trim
  11. present — the time now
  12. snap — to click
  13. chest — a box
  14. dip — to sink
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. present — there
  17. branch — a division
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. present — a gift
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. chest — of your body
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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