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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.

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 · bass · cabinet · leaves · prune · drill · wind · last

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. drill — the tool
  5. prune — to trim
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. drill — army training
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bass — the fish
  11. last — final
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. wind — moving air
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bass — low music
  24. drill — a practice

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