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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. last — finally
  6. game — wild animals
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. last — to go on
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. lie — to recline
  15. stand — to bear
  16. perch — the fish
  17. last — final
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bark — to shout
  20. kid — child
  21. key — in music
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — for a lock
  24. kid — to tease

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