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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bark — to shout
  6. march — the month
  7. scale — size or range
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. scale — in music
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. mate — a friend
  12. march — music
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bulb — for light
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. mate — to breed
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a city
  22. march — the month
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. perch — the fish

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