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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. court — of a king
  3. wind — moving air
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. court — of law
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. saw — the tool
  8. file — a tool
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. saw — the tool
  11. file — a document
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bark — to shout
  17. court — for sport
  18. file — a line of people
  19. perch — the fish
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. sharp — clever
  24. wind — moving air

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