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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. ball — a dance
  4. cell — in biology
  5. object — to protest
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. ball — a great time
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. bark — to shout
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — an aim
  15. squash — the sport
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — a phone
  20. pitch — completely
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bark — of a tree

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