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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 124 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. perch — the fish
  4. net — for catching
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. staff — employees
  8. bark — to shout
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — a list
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. staff — a stick
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. cold — not warm
  16. prune — to trim
  17. net — in sport
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. staff — employees
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. net — after costs
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. cold — an illness

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