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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bear — the animal
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. swing — in golf
  8. spring — the season
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. spring — a coil
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. swing — music
  15. sharp — clever
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. board — a committee
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bark — to shout
  23. spring — of water
  24. sharp — with an edge

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