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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. firm — a company
  7. pass — a permit
  8. file — a line of people
  9. firm — steady
  10. kid — child
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. firm — decided
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. season — in sport
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. season — of the year
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a tool
  23. kid — to tease
  24. pass — to succeed

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