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

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. last — final
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. mug — a face
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. last — to go on
  12. mug — to rob
  13. wind — moving air
  14. season — of the year
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. last — finally
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bark — to shout
  22. mug — a cup
  23. season — in sport
  24. wind — moving air

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