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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. club — for dancing
  3. shower — to wash
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. march — the month
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bark — to shout
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. chest — of your body
  14. perch — the fish
  15. mate — a partner
  16. chest — of your body
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. club — for golf
  19. shower — rain
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. chest — a box
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bark — of a tree

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