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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bark — to shout
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bound — tied together
  9. kick — in football
  10. bound — obliged
  11. fall — to drop
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. fall — the season
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. field — farmland
  16. prune — to trim
  17. field — for sport
  18. wound — an injury
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. fall — to drop
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. field — a subject

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