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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. prune — to trim
  6. game — a match
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bark — to shout
  9. row — a line
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. land — to come down
  14. prune — to trim
  15. row — to paddle
  16. land — ground
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — to eat
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. land — a country
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bowl — a football final

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