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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. saw — the tool
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. face — to point toward
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bark — to shout
  8. face — to confront
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. file — a line of people
  11. face — part of the head
  12. cap — a lid
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. swing — to play on
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — of ice
  17. last — final
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. file — a document
  22. perch — the fish
  23. swing — music
  24. file — a tool

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