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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 116 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. prune — to trim
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. spring — of water
  8. row — to paddle
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bass — low music
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. spring — the season
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. bark — to shout
  23. dip — to sink
  24. bass — the fish

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