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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 120 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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. content — the amount
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. content — happy
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. pound — a weight
  13. prune — to trim
  14. foot — a measure
  15. prune — to trim
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. cold — an illness
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cold — the Cold War

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