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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. cue — a signal
  4. bank — for money
  5. cue — a hint
  6. field — for sport
  7. chest — of your body
  8. field — farmland
  9. cue — for pool
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bark — to shout
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bank — for money
  16. chest — a box
  17. snap — to click
  18. bank — of a river
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. field — a subject
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. band — a ring

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