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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bark — to shout
  3. lean — to bend
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. file — a document
  6. rest — what's left
  7. chest — a box
  8. perch — the fish
  9. lean — thin
  10. kick — in football
  11. rest — a break
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rest — what's left
  19. chest — of your body
  20. file — a tool
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. chest — of your body
  24. game — a match

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