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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. foot — a measure
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bark — to shout
  8. roll — a cake
  9. shower — to wash
  10. last — to go on
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. track — a song
  13. track — a path
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. track — to keep track
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. last — final
  18. kid — to tease
  19. last — finally
  20. roll — a list
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. shower — rain
  23. kid — child
  24. foot — part of the body

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