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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: bark · prune · pitcher · bear · saw · rash · face · hand

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bark — to shout
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bear — the animal
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. saw — the tool
  11. hand — in cards
  12. face — part of the head
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. rash — a series
  15. saw — the tool
  16. hand — help
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — to confront
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bear — the animal

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