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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mug — to rob
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. pop — soda
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. mug — a cup
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bark — to shout
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pop — music
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pop — to visit

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