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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. tube — the underground
  5. mark — a grade
  6. field — farmland
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. fall — to drop
  13. mark — a trace
  14. field — a subject
  15. bark — to shout
  16. field — for sport
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — a container
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. wind — moving air
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. fall — the season
  23. wind — moving air
  24. temple — a place of worship

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