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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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. fine — all right
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. snap — to click
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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