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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 116 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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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: fork · bark · land · present · game · bowl · stick · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. land — a country
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. present — there
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. present — a gift
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fork — in a road
  12. game — a match
  13. present — the time now
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. game — wild animals
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. land — ground
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. land — to come down
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bowl — a football final

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