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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 116 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. game — wild animals
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a trace
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. fall — the season
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. mark — a grade
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bark — to shout
  13. game — a match
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. ground — a position
  16. perch — the fish
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. fall — to drop
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. fall — to drop

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