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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. last — to go on
  3. hand — in cards
  4. last — finally
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bark — to shout
  9. swing — to play on
  10. hand — help
  11. last — final
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. swing — music
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. date — the fruit
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. stock — shares
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bulb — for light

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