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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bark — to shout
  3. track — a song
  4. can — a tin
  5. drill — the tool
  6. track — a path
  7. prune — to trim
  8. drill — army training
  9. can — a tin
  10. chest — of your body
  11. drill — a practice
  12. pop — soda
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. pop — music
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. track — to keep track
  18. cell — in biology
  19. can — to be able to
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pop — to visit
  23. chest — a box
  24. prune — the fruit

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