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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. prune — to trim
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. deal — to handle
  8. net — after costs
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. capital — money
  11. net — in sport
  12. tube — the underground
  13. capital — a city
  14. date — the fruit
  15. tube — a container
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. net — for catching
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. capital — a big letter

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