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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. last — final
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. lean — to bend
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. prune — to trim
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. content — the amount
  12. lean — thin
  13. last — to go on
  14. content — happy
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — shares
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cap — a hat
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. bark — to shout
  24. last — finally

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