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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 116 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rush — hurry
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. ball — a dance
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ball — a great time
  9. rock — a stone
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. shower — to wash
  12. rock — music
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — a hint
  18. degree — temperature
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. bark — to shout
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. rush — a thrill

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