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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. bark — to shout
  5. file — a tool
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. deal — to handle
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stand — to bear
  14. capital — money
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. perch — the fish
  17. file — a document
  18. wound — an injury
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. capital — a city
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. deal — an agreement

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