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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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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: calf · pop · kid · tear · prune · bark · fan · ground

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bark — to shout
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pop — to visit
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. kid — child
  8. ground — the earth
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. tear — from crying
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ground — a position
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pop — soda
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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