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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 116 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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. fine — all right
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bear — the animal
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bear — the animal
  13. fine — high quality
  14. squash — the sport
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rush — hurry
  17. hand — help
  18. squash — to crush
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. cold — the Cold War

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