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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. drill — a practice
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. craft — a skill
  12. bark — to shout
  13. hand — in cards
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. drill — army training
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. craft — boats
  19. pop — soda
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. hand — help
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. pop — music
  24. drill — the tool

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