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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bass — low music
  3. spring — a coil
  4. prune — to trim
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fine — all right
  8. spring — the season
  9. track — to keep track
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. track — a song
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fine — high quality
  16. press — to push
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. prune — to trim
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bark — to shout
  22. spring — of water
  23. track — a path
  24. bass — the fish

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