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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. prune — to trim
  4. content — the amount
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bulb — for light
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. content — happy
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. prune — to trim
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to click
  20. game — a match
  21. bulb — for light
  22. scale — size or range
  23. hand — in cards
  24. scale — in music

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