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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. season — in sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. bear — the animal
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bear — the animal
  9. degree — from a university
  10. perch — the fish
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. court — of law
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. season — of the year
  17. degree — an amount
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bark — to shout
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. degree — temperature
  23. court — for sport
  24. ground — a position

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