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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. face — part of the head
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. row — a line
  7. bark — to shout
  8. perch — the fish
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. drill — the tool
  12. face — to confront
  13. ground — a position
  14. row — to paddle
  15. kick — in football
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. ground — the earth
  18. hand — help
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. hand — in cards
  22. ground — crushed
  23. drill — army training
  24. face — to point toward

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