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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. kid — to tease
  4. ground — crushed
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. prune — to trim
  9. track — to keep track
  10. spell — a short time
  11. ground — a position
  12. spell — letters
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. track — a song
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. kid — child
  17. spell — magic
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for dancing
  20. prune — to trim
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. ground — the earth
  23. club — for golf
  24. track — a path

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