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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 116 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. file — a line of people
  5. game — wild animals
  6. firm — decided
  7. file — a tool
  8. degree — temperature
  9. key — for a lock
  10. degree — from a university
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bark — to shout
  13. key — the most important part
  14. firm — a company
  15. bat — the animal
  16. degree — an amount
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. game — a match
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. key — in music
  23. firm — steady
  24. file — a document

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