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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. perch — the fish
  11. craft — a skill
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. scale — size or range
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. mate — a partner
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. scale — in music
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bark — to shout
  24. lash — to lash out

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