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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. club — for golf
  3. perch — the fish
  4. spring — of water
  5. kid — child
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. club — for dancing
  8. kid — to tease
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — the season
  11. cap — a lid
  12. rock — music
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. club — a group
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wake — a trail
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — to shout

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