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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bear — the animal
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bark — to shout
  6. craft — a skill
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. craft — boats
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. current — electric
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. current — happening now
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. current — of water
  22. bear — the animal
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. degree — temperature

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