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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. perch — the fish
  6. chest — a box
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. kid — child
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bark — to shout
  12. spell — magic
  13. prune — to trim
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. spell — letters
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spell — a short time
  24. kid — to tease

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