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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 120 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bark — to shout
  4. face — part of the head
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. perch — the fish
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. pit — a hole
  14. face — to confront
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cell — a phone
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. pit — in a race
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. face — to point toward
  22. kid — child
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. kid — to tease

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