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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: prune · staff · board · kick · chest · bark · track · spring

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. staff — employees
  3. spring — of water
  4. bark — to shout
  5. kick — in football
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. track — a song
  9. board — to get on
  10. staff — a stick
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. prune — to trim
  14. track — to keep track
  15. prune — to trim
  16. chest — of your body
  17. track — a path
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. chest — a box
  21. staff — employees
  22. spring — the season
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. kick — with a leg

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