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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: band · land · hide · rash · pitch · prune · bark · chest

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — a series
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. chest — of your body
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. chest — of your body
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. land — ground
  11. chest — a box
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. prune — to trim
  17. band — a ring
  18. bark — to shout
  19. band — a music group
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. prune — to trim
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. pitch — completely

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