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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. game — a match
  4. bat — the animal
  5. key — in music
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. present — a gift
  8. track — a song
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. present — the time now
  11. track — a path
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. perch — the fish
  14. game — wild animals
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. bark — to shout
  18. key — for a lock
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. present — there
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. key — the most important part

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