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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · prune · nail · bear · roll · bark · rock · tear

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. prune — to trim
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rock — music
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. tear — from crying
  9. roll — a cake
  10. tear — to rip
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. bear — the animal
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. degree — from a university
  17. prune — to trim
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. tear — from crying
  23. roll — a list
  24. nail — for a hammer

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