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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: fork · squash · game · march · mate · prune · bark · stick

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. fork — in a road
  5. mate — a friend
  6. game — a match
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. march — music
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. game — wild animals
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. squash — the sport
  21. mate — to breed
  22. squash — to crush
  23. mate — a partner
  24. bark — to shout

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