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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. rest — what's left
  6. perch — the fish
  7. saw — the tool
  8. rest — a break
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bark — to shout
  12. face — to point toward
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to confront
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. drill — the tool
  19. rock — a stone
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rest — what's left

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