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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. perch — the fish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. sharp — clever
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. pop — to visit
  9. charge — in control
  10. charge — a price
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. chest — a box
  14. charge — electricity
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pop — music
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — to shout
  21. pop — soda
  22. foot — a measure
  23. wound — an injury
  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