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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. ground — crushed
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. land — ground
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. cap — a hat
  9. board — a committee
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. land — a country
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. board — to get on
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. cap — a lid
  17. rush — hurry
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. land — to come down
  20. ground — the earth
  21. cap — of ice
  22. ground — a position
  23. kick — in football
  24. bark — to shout

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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