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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. spell — letters
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. spell — a short time
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bark — to shout
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. scale — size or range
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. spell — magic
  22. season — of the year
  23. file — a line of people
  24. scale — in music

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