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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 116 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pitch — completely
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. squash — the sport
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. cell — in biology
  15. perch — the fish
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. chair — a leader
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bore — to drill
  22. hand — help
  23. bore — to tire
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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