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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bark — to shout
  4. perch — the fish
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. band — a music group
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. ball — a great time
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. spring — of water
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. band — a ring
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. spring — a coil
  22. ball — a dance
  23. chair — a leader
  24. spring — the season

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