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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. prune — to trim
  5. capital — money
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. scale — in music
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. prune — to trim
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bank — for money
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bank — for money
  18. stem — to come from
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bark — to shout
  21. capital — a city
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. capital — a big letter

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