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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bank — for money
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. drill — army training
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. bark — to shout
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. drill — the tool
  17. clip — for paper
  18. drill — a practice
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bank — for money
  23. content — the amount
  24. tear — from crying

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