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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. prune — to trim
  4. lean — to bend
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — final
  7. lean — thin
  8. net — in sport
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. deal — to handle
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bark — to shout
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. net — after costs
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. last — finally
  18. net — for catching
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. wake — a trail

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