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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. tube — the underground
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. tube — a container
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. bark — to shout
  9. file — a document
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. chair — a leader
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a song
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. file — a line of people
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. track — a path
  19. file — a tool
  20. kick — in football
  21. dip — to sink
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. dip — to dunk

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