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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. perch — the fish
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. spell — letters
  9. staff — a stick
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rule — government
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. staff — employees
  19. spell — a short time
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. staff — employees
  22. spell — magic
  23. rule — a law
  24. file — a tool

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