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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  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. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. mug — to rob
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mug — a face
  8. pound — a weight
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — in music
  11. key — for a lock
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bark — to shout
  16. perch — the fish
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wake — a trail
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mug — a cup
  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