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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. game — wild animals
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bark — to shout
  5. game — a match
  6. perch — the fish
  7. date — the fruit
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. bank — of a river
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bank — for money
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bank — for money
  21. fork — in a road
  22. file — a tool
  23. fork — a garden tool
  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