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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. branch — a division
  3. scale — in music
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. row — a line
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bark — to shout
  10. tear — from crying
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. perch — the fish
  14. tear — from crying
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. row — to paddle
  24. tear — to rip

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