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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. ground — crushed
  4. fall — to drop
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. date — the fruit
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. fall — the season
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chip — to eat
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. fall — to drop
  16. perch — the fish
  17. squash — the sport
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. squash — to crush

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