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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. key — the most important part
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. season — of the year
  8. cell — a phone
  9. season — in sport
  10. bark — to shout
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. pop — to visit
  13. key — in music
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — soda
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. spring — the season
  18. cell — in biology
  19. foot — a measure
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. key — for a lock
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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