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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. ball — a great time
  3. spell — magic
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chest — of your body
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. spell — letters
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spell — a short time
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. perch — the fish
  20. ball — a dance
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wind — moving air

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