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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. field — for sport
  3. kid — child
  4. craft — a skill
  5. field — farmland
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. kid — to tease
  10. craft — boats
  11. last — to go on
  12. track — a song
  13. field — a subject
  14. bark — to shout
  15. pitch — completely
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. prune — to trim
  18. track — to keep track
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. track — a path
  22. last — final
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. last — finally

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