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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: last · bark · leaves · row · ground · march · pit · prune

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  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. pit — a fruit stone
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. pit — a hole
  5. march — the month
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. ground — the earth
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. pit — in a race
  12. march — music
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. last — finally
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bark — to shout
  17. march — the month
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a line
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. ground — a position
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. prune — to trim
  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