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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bark — to shout
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. bulb — for light
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to click
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cell — in biology
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. tube — a container
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. tube — the underground

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