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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 116 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. last — to go on
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bark — to shout
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. last — finally
  10. lean — thin
  11. last — final
  12. object — a thing
  13. press — to push
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. object — an aim
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. press — newspapers
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. snap — to click
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. object — to protest
  23. press — a publisher
  24. bark — of a tree

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