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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  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. last — to go on
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pop — music
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. wind — moving air
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. ground — crushed
  14. last — final
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. pop — soda
  18. ground — the earth
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. last — finally
  21. ground — a position
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bark — to shout
  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