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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. foot — a measure
  3. march — the month
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — letters
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. spell — magic
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. bark — to shout
  14. prune — to trim
  15. key — in music
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bore — to tire
  18. march — the month
  19. key — for a lock
  20. bore — to drill
  21. march — music
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. key — the most important part

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