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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. tear — to rip
  5. plane — a tool
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. land — ground
  10. tear — from crying
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. land — to come down
  13. perch — the fish
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bark — to shout
  17. land — a country
  18. cold — an illness
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. tear — from crying

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