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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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468
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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. suit — in cards
  3. key — the most important part
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. suit — to fit
  7. suit — clothes
  8. cold — an illness
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. snap — to click
  14. bark — to shout
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. perch — the fish
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. cold — not warm
  22. key — in music
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. key — for a lock

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