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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. content — happy
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bark — to shout
  5. prune — to trim
  6. scale — in music
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. scale — size or range
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. bore — to drill
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. prune — to trim
  14. row — to paddle
  15. rash — hasty
  16. row — a line
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. content — the amount
  19. bore — to tire
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bore — gave birth

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