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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 120 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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. perch — the fish
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. spell — a short time
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. sharp — clever
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. branch — a division
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. spell — magic
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. snap — to click
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. dip — to sink
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. spell — letters
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. perch — for a bird

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