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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. root — the cause
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. clip — a video
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. prune — to trim
  8. ball — a dance
  9. clip — to cut
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. root — of a word
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. root — of a plant
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. ball — a great time
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bark — to shout
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. dip — to sink
  24. branch — a division

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