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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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kid — to tease
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. cap — of ice
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — for light
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bark — to shout
  17. kid — child
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. cap — a lid
  20. fall — the season
  21. perch — the fish
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. perch — for a bird

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