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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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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: game · prune · bark · wind · bay · ball · club · kid

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for dancing
  5. kid — to tease
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. ball — a dance
  9. game — wild animals
  10. kid — child
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. ball — a great time
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. wind — moving air
  19. game — a match
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bark — to shout
  22. prune — to trim
  23. club — for golf
  24. prune — the fruit

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