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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. deal — to handle
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. last — finally
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bark — to shout
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. file — a document
  10. content — the amount
  11. scale — in music
  12. last — to go on
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. file — a line of people
  16. last — final
  17. file — a tool
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. content — happy
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. deal — an agreement

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