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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. pitch — completely
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. rest — a break
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. spring — the season
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bark — to shout
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. rest — what's left
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — a coil
  18. chest — a box
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. prune — to trim
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. chest — of your body

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