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

Word bank: tear · snap · bark · field · prune · pit · dip · nail

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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. field — for sport
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pit — a hole
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. field — a subject
  14. dip — to sink
  15. pit — in a race
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. field — farmland
  23. snap — to click
  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