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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: rule · prune · straw · lie · fan · spring · scale · bark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. rule — government
  3. scale — in music
  4. spring — of water
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bark — to shout
  12. spring — the season
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. spring — a coil
  15. rule — a law
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. lie — to recline
  19. scale — size or range
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. lie — an untruth

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