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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. spell — a short time
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. ground — a position
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. foot — a measure
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. spell — letters
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. spell — magic
  15. bark — to shout
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. perch — the fish
  19. ground — the earth
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. kick — in football
  23. roll — a list
  24. foot — part of the body

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