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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. race — a contest
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. prune — to trim
  5. spring — the season
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. race — humankind
  8. prune — to trim
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. perch — the fish
  12. file — a document
  13. chip — for betting
  14. file — a line of people
  15. race — the arms race
  16. chip — to eat
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. file — a tool
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. plane — a tool
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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