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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bound — certain
  6. net — for catching
  7. bound — obliged
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — in sport
  11. cold — not warm
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — army training
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. bark — to shout
  17. cold — an illness
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bound — tied together
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. drill — the tool
  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