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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. degree — from a university
  3. snap — to click
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. perch — the fish
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. can — to be able to
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. tear — to rip
  11. can — a tin
  12. tear — from crying
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. degree — temperature
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. can — a tin
  22. degree — an amount
  23. tear — from crying
  24. nail — for a hammer

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