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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 a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. ground — crushed
  5. pit — in a race
  6. ground — the earth
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. pit — a hole
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. prune — to trim
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. ground — a position
  22. bark — to shout
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. prune — to trim

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