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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. face — to point toward
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. swing — to play on
  8. last — finally
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bulb — for light
  11. swing — music
  12. clip — a video
  13. perch — the fish
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rash — hasty
  16. face — part of the head
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. last — to go on
  19. rash — a series
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bulb — for light
  23. face — to confront
  24. last — final

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