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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: game · march · bear · bark · chair · prune · lean · bass

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bark — to shout
  4. march — the month
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. lean — thin
  9. march — music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. game — a match
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. march — the month

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