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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: file · bulb · hand · season · prune · deal · cue · bark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. hand — help
  4. file — a line of people
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cue — a hint
  7. deal — to handle
  8. prune — to trim
  9. file — a document
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. file — a tool
  12. bulb — for light
  13. season — in sport
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. cue — a signal
  16. season — of the year
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. prune — to trim
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. bark — to shout
  24. hand — in cards

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