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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 124 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. cap — a hat
  6. field — for sport
  7. shower — rain
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. foot — a measure
  10. bark — to shout
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. field — farmland
  13. perch — the fish
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. cap — a lid
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. squash — to crush
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. field — a subject
  22. shower — to wash
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cap — of ice

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