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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 116 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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. face — to confront
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. chair — a leader
  6. tear — from crying
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. shower — rain
  12. kick — in football
  13. shower — to wash
  14. face — part of the head
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. tear — from crying
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. face — to point toward
  20. tear — to rip
  21. mine — for digging
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bark — to shout
  24. perch — the fish

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