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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. track — a path
  4. file — a tool
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. file — a line of people
  7. perch — the fish
  8. swing — in golf
  9. track — to keep track
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. bark — to shout
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. swing — music
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. track — a song
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. fine — high quality
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. swing — to play on
  21. kick — in football
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. fine — all right
  24. file — a document

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