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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. squash — to crush
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. cap — a hat
  7. squash — the sport
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. staff — employees
  11. lean — to bend
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bark — to shout
  16. cell — a phone
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — a friend
  20. prune — to trim
  21. mate — to breed
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. cap — a lid

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