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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. mate — to breed
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. mate — a friend
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. chip — for betting
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. root — of a word
  13. scale — in music
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. root — the cause
  21. scale — size or range
  22. root — of a plant
  23. mate — a partner
  24. bark — to shout

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