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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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