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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bark — to shout
  5. rash — a series
  6. swing — to play on
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. fine — high quality
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. fine — all right
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — music
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. kick — in football
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rash — hasty

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