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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. staff — employees
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. ground — a position
  7. prune — to trim
  8. kick — in football
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. clip — a video
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. staff — a stick
  15. clip — to cut
  16. saw — the tool
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — the earth
  19. staff — employees
  20. prune — to trim
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. perch — the fish
  24. bark — to shout

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