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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. drill — army training
  6. object — a thing
  7. drill — the tool
  8. content — happy
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. object — an aim
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. object — to protest
  14. bear — the animal
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bear — the animal
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. content — the amount
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. drill — a practice
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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