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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. file — a line of people
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. kick — in football
  7. wax — to grow
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bark — to shout
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. file — a document
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. perch — the fish
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. snap — to click
  17. file — a tool
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. season — of the year
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. season — in sport
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wax — in the ear

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