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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pop — soda
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. pop — music
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. mate — a partner
  8. prune — to trim
  9. present — there
  10. file — a tool
  11. mate — to breed
  12. file — a document
  13. present — a gift
  14. mate — a friend
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. pop — to visit
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. prune — the fruit

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