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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: row · game · prune · bark · bear · jam · straw · ruler

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a match
  4. row — to paddle
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bear — the animal
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. bear — the animal
  18. prune — to trim
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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