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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. mate — a partner
  7. chair — a leader
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. perch — the fish
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rock — music
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. mate — a friend
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. shower — to wash
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. scale — in music
  19. rock — a stone
  20. mate — to breed
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. shower — rain
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. scale — size or range

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