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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. file — a tool
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. ground — a position
  10. bark — to shout
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fine — all right
  20. perch — the fish
  21. wind — moving air
  22. file — a document
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bore — gave birth

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