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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 120 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: bark · wave · prune · march · cold · fork · chip · object

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. chip — for betting
  7. march — the month
  8. fork — in a road
  9. cold — an illness
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bark — to shout
  16. march — the month
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. object — to protest
  21. march — music
  22. prune — to trim
  23. object — a thing
  24. object — an aim

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