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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. perch — the fish
  3. bark — to shout
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. ball — a great time
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. rock — music
  10. bound — tied together
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. toast — bread
  17. bound — obliged
  18. ball — a dance
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bound — certain
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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