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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. press — to push
  9. band — a music group
  10. snap — to click
  11. band — a ring
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. press — a publisher
  15. prune — to trim
  16. degree — temperature
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. degree — an amount
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bark — to shout
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. degree — from a university
  24. press — newspapers

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