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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — to shout
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. perch — the fish
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. kid — to tease
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a document
  14. present — the time now
  15. file — a line of people
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. kid — child
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. court — for sport
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. present — there
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. present — a gift
  24. wind — moving air

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