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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. lean — to bend
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. chip — to eat
  9. club — for golf
  10. lean — thin
  11. net — after costs
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. net — for catching
  14. club — a group
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. chip — for betting
  17. bark — to shout
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. club — for dancing
  21. cold — an illness
  22. net — in sport
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. fork — in a road

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