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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bark — to shout
  3. ball — a great time
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bass — low music
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. ground — the earth
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. ground — a position
  12. row — a line
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. mine — for digging
  19. ball — a dance
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. ground — crushed
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. prune — to trim

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