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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. wind — moving air
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. net — for catching
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bark — to shout
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. spell — magic
  12. pound — a weight
  13. net — after costs
  14. rash — a series
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. deal — to handle
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — a short time
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. net — in sport
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wind — moving air

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