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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. prune — to trim
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. band — a music group
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. stand — to bear
  11. band — a ring
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. track — a path
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. sharp — clever
  16. track — a song
  17. perch — the fish
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. prune — to trim
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. kid — child
  23. track — to keep track
  24. kid — to tease

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