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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — for money
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. tear — from crying
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bank — of a river
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. sharp — clever
  18. prune — to trim
  19. date — the fruit
  20. tear — to rip
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. prune — to trim
  24. date — on the calendar

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