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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. tear — from crying
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. rock — music
  7. roll — a cake
  8. rock — a stone
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. prune — to trim
  12. roll — a list
  13. tear — from crying
  14. net — in sport
  15. bark — to shout
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. can — to be able to
  19. net — for catching
  20. can — a tin
  21. tear — to rip
  22. key — in music
  23. net — after costs
  24. roll — on a roll

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