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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. bat — the animal
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. mine — for digging
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. bark — to shout
  19. mate — a friend
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. perch — the fish
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. perch — for a bird

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