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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bank — for money
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bank — for money
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. fall — to drop
  9. squash — to crush
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bank — of a river
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rash — a series
  15. rush — hurry
  16. march — music
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. fall — the season
  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