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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. kid — child
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. season — of the year
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bore — to drill
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. season — in sport
  19. staff — employees
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. bore — to tire
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. staff — a stick

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