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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — the underground
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. craft — boats
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. cell — in biology
  13. wound — an injury
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. bark — to shout
  18. prune — to trim
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. snap — to click
  21. craft — a skill
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. march — the month
  24. cell — in a prison

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