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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. ground — crushed
  6. perch — the fish
  7. ground — a position
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. file — a tool
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. rash — a series
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bark — to shout
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rash — hasty
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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