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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 120 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. drill — army training
  5. pop — music
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. drill — a practice
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pop — soda
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. net — for catching
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. ground — crushed
  17. prune — to trim
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. pop — to visit
  20. bark — to shout
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — a position
  24. drill — the tool

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