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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bark — to shout
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. suit — to fit
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. suit — clothes
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. hand — in cards
  11. face — to confront
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. face — to point toward
  16. suit — in cards
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — a video
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. hand — help
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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