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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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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: cue · bark · game · prune · present · cell · bowl · rock

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. cue — a hint
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cell — a phone
  7. present — there
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cell — in biology
  15. rock — a stone
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. cue — a signal
  19. present — a gift
  20. game — a match
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. rock — music
  23. present — the time now
  24. cell — in a prison

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