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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. scale — in music
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. scale — size or range
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. track — to keep track
  17. tear — to rip
  18. perch — the fish
  19. track — a path
  20. track — a song
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. tear — from crying
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. scale — for weighing

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