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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. mine — for digging
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. kid — child
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bark — to shout
  12. fork — in a road
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. rash — a series
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. fine — all right
  24. perch — the fish

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