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

Word bank: plane · race · mine · cell · bark · foot · suit · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bark — to shout
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. suit — clothes
  8. cell — a phone
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. race — humankind
  13. cell — in biology
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. suit — in cards
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. foot — a measure
  18. suit — to fit
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. plane — a tool
  21. mine — for digging
  22. race — a contest
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. plane — an aircraft

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