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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wound — an injury
  3. saw — the tool
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. row — a line
  9. row — to paddle
  10. last — to go on
  11. snap — to click
  12. rule — a law
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rule — government
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. last — final
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. last — finally
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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