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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. clip — to cut
  4. drill — a practice
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. drill — army training
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. clip — a video
  11. land — a country
  12. bark — to shout
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. perch — the fish
  16. chair — a leader
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. land — to come down
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. drill — the tool
  22. clip — for paper
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. lash — to lash out

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