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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bark — to shout
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. shower — rain
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. bore — to tire
  11. spell — a short time
  12. key — for a lock
  13. fine — high quality
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bore — to drill
  16. key — in music
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. spell — letters
  20. fine — all right
  21. shower — to wash
  22. perch — the fish
  23. spell — magic
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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