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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — a trace
  4. roll — a cake
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. key — for a lock
  13. bark — to shout
  14. hand — in cards
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — a line
  17. cap — a hat
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cap — a lid
  21. key — the most important part
  22. row — to paddle
  23. roll — a list
  24. key — in music

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