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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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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 · mark · file · patient · roll · bark · dip · mine

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mark — a trace
  4. bark — to shout
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. roll — a cake
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. dip — to sink
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. mine — for digging
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. roll — a list
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. file — a line of people
  24. patient — a sick person

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