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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — to be able to
  4. scale — size or range
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bark — to shout
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. game — wild animals
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — help
  15. perch — the fish
  16. mate — a partner
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — to breed
  20. scale — in music
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. can — a tin
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. coach — a trainer

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