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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. date — the fruit
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. capital — money
  9. sharp — clever
  10. file — a tool
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a document
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. capital — a city

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