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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — a series
  6. perch — the fish
  7. pound — a weight
  8. spring — of water
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bark — to shout
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. stand — to bear
  17. scale — in music
  18. rash — hasty
  19. spring — a coil
  20. scale — size or range
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. spring — the season
  24. wound — an injury

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