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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. ground — the earth
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bulb — for light
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. row — a line
  8. fall — the season
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. ground — a position
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bark — to shout
  13. perch — the fish
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. kid — to tease
  22. ground — crushed
  23. kid — child
  24. bark — of a tree

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