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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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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 · wound · racket · bark · hand · tube · net · bound

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. tube — the underground
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. prune — to trim
  5. net — for catching
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. hand — in cards
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. net — in sport
  11. hand — help
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — certain
  15. wound — an injury
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. net — after costs
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bound — tied together
  24. wound — an injury

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