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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. rush — hurry
  3. prune — to trim
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. prune — to trim
  7. row — a line
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. row — to paddle
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. chair — a leader
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. snap — to click
  19. wax — to grow
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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