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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. fall — the season
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. rock — music
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — in sport
  10. land — ground
  11. bark — to shout
  12. land — to come down
  13. fall — to drop
  14. land — a country
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. prune — to trim
  17. shower — rain
  18. fall — to drop
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rock — a stone
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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