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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. prune — to trim
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. snap — to click
  8. kid — child
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. race — a contest
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. race — the arms race
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. foot — a measure
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. prune — to trim
  21. race — humankind
  22. lie — to recline
  23. bark — to shout
  24. prune — the fruit

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