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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: kid · march · spell · bark · present · fork · prune · chair

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — a short time
  5. march — the month
  6. prune — to trim
  7. present — the time now
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. march — the month
  11. bark — to shout
  12. spell — letters
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. present — there
  15. present — a gift
  16. kid — child
  17. march — music
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. fork — in a road
  24. chair — a leader

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