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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. season — in sport
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — music
  11. season — of the year
  12. scale — in music
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — to shout
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. scale — size or range
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. pop — soda
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. date — the fruit

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