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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. prune — to trim
  8. band — a ring
  9. bat — the animal
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. band — a music group
  15. bark — to shout
  16. stock — shares
  17. prune — to trim
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. kick — in football
  22. stock — goods
  23. wound — an injury
  24. kick — a thrill

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