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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. track — a song
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. perch — the fish
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — for catching
  13. drill — a practice
  14. cold — not warm
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. track — to keep track
  17. game — a match
  18. cold — an illness
  19. track — a path
  20. present — the time now
  21. drill — the tool
  22. present — a gift
  23. drill — army training
  24. present — there

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