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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cold — an illness
  4. chest — a box
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. present — there
  8. chest — of your body
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. squash — to crush
  11. pass — a permit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — the time now
  16. chest — of your body
  17. squash — the sport
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — in a road
  24. cold — not warm

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