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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. board — to get on
  9. file — a line of people
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. board — a committee
  13. press — to push
  14. pit — a hole
  15. file — a tool
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. prune — to trim
  21. file — a document
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bark — of a tree

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