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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · leaves · shower · drill · tear · bass · squash · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  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. bark — of a tree
  3. drill — army training
  4. squash — to crush
  5. shower — to wash
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. shower — rain
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. drill — a practice
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bass — the fish
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bass — low music
  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