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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 116 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. can — to be able to
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. wake — a trail
  6. can — a tin
  7. net — after costs
  8. kick — in football
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. perch — the fish
  12. field — a subject
  13. can — a tin
  14. net — in sport
  15. bark — to shout
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spell — magic
  18. field — for sport
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. field — farmland
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. net — for catching

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