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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. land — ground
  8. scale — in music
  9. bark — to shout
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. scale — size or range
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. prune — to trim
  20. lie — to recline
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. land — a country
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. fork — in a road

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