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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: mine · content · prune · bark · chest · wake · face · present

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. prune — to trim
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — the time now
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. face — to point toward
  10. mine — for digging
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. content — happy
  13. wake — a trail
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. chest — a box
  17. content — the amount
  18. bark — to shout
  19. chest — of your body
  20. present — there
  21. face — part of the head
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. chest — of your body
  24. face — to confront

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