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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. file — a tool
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. chest — a box
  7. race — the arms race
  8. chest — of your body
  9. file — a document
  10. race — a contest
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. race — humankind
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. craft — boats
  16. file — a line of people
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. hand — in cards
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. hand — help
  22. chest — of your body
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. craft — a skill

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