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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — to shout
  3. cap — a hat
  4. perch — the fish
  5. mate — a friend
  6. squash — the sport
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bound — obliged
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. drill — a practice
  13. bound — tied together
  14. cap — a lid
  15. squash — to crush
  16. drill — the tool
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bound — certain
  19. cell — in biology
  20. mate — a partner
  21. drill — army training
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. perch — for a bird

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