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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: staff · game · arm · shower · land · rock · prune · bark

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. game — a match
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. land — a country
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. rock — music
  12. shower — rain
  13. game — wild animals
  14. rock — a stone
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. land — ground
  20. shower — to wash
  21. staff — employees
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. land — to come down

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