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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. present — a gift
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. ball — a dance
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. prune — to trim
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bark — to shout
  13. lie — to recline
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. ball — a great time
  17. present — the time now
  18. cold — not warm
  19. date — the fruit
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. present — there
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cold — an illness

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