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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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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: club · mark · ball · prune · hide · hand · bark · spring

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mark — a trace
  3. ball — a great time
  4. club — for dancing
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. hand — in cards
  8. prune — to trim
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. club — a group
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. club — for golf
  18. mark — a grade
  19. ball — a dance
  20. spring — the season
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — to shout
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. prune — to trim

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