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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: bark · straw · fork · prune · pass · hide · cold · ball

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pass — a permit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. prune — to trim
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a great time
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. cold — an illness
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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