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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bound — certain
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bound — tied together
  6. perch — the fish
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pop — music
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pop — soda
  11. clip — for paper
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. prune — to trim
  14. clip — a video
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. prune — to trim
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bound — obliged
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bark — to shout
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pitcher — a jug

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