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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bound — obliged
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bark — to shout
  6. kid — child
  7. mate — to breed
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. mate — a partner
  11. band — a music group
  12. mate — a friend
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bat — the animal
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bound — certain
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. band — a ring
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bound — tied together
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. perch — for a bird

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