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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 116 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. rest — a break
  6. track — to keep track
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bark — to shout
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. track — a song
  13. spring — of water
  14. rest — what's left
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. file — a document
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. track — a path
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. rest — what's left
  23. trunk — of a car
  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