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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. track — a song
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. chip — for betting
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — to shout
  10. chip — to eat
  11. perch — the fish
  12. row — to paddle
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wind — moving air
  15. track — a path
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. board — a committee
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. row — a line
  21. track — to keep track
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. board — to get 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