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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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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: bat · rush · field · fine · bark · bear · mark · prune

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. field — a subject
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bat — the animal
  10. mark — a trace
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bark — to shout
  13. field — farmland
  14. fine — high quality
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. mark — a grade
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bear — the animal
  21. fine — all right
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. field — for sport
  24. rush — a thrill

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