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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  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. bark — a dog's sound
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. season — in sport
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. season — of the year
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bat — the animal
  14. tube — a container
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. perch — the fish
  20. chest — a box
  21. tube — the underground
  22. bark — to shout
  23. sharp — clever
  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