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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. perch — the fish
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bark — to shout
  8. fall — to drop
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. fall — to drop
  13. content — happy
  14. dip — to sink
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bound — tied together
  17. branch — a division
  18. mine — for digging
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — obliged
  22. content — the amount
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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