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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: pass · chair · snap · perch · bark · stock · rest · prune

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. prune — to trim
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. snap — to click
  8. stock — goods
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. rest — what's left
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bark — to shout
  14. perch — the fish
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. stock — shares
  20. pass — a permit
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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