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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 120 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. field — a subject
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wax — to grow
  6. plane — a tool
  7. key — the most important part
  8. pop — to visit
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. key — for a lock
  11. field — for sport
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. key — in music
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. rest — what's left
  18. field — farmland
  19. pop — soda
  20. bark — to shout
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. pop — music
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. rest — a break

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