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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cue — for pool
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. perch — the fish
  8. plane — a tool
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bark — to shout
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. mine — for digging
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cue — a hint
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. roll — a cake
  19. cue — a signal
  20. roll — a list
  21. fork — in a road
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. plane — in geometry

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