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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. pit — a hole
  3. lean — thin
  4. perch — the fish
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ball — a great time
  8. spring — the season
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. spring — a coil
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. spring — of water
  14. chest — a box
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. chest — of your body
  23. ball — a dance
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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