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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.

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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 · bear · swing · degree · prune · band · pit · charge

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. prune — to trim
  3. charge — a price
  4. swing — music
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. pit — a hole
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bear — the animal
  11. degree — an amount
  12. swing — to play on
  13. prune — to trim
  14. charge — in control
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. bear — the animal
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. band — a music group
  22. swing — in golf
  23. pit — in a race
  24. charge — electricity

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