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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. can — a tin
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — for pool
  6. can — a tin
  7. cue — a signal
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. perch — the fish
  13. shower — to wash
  14. can — to be able to
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. lie — to recline
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bark — to shout
  19. shower — rain
  20. degree — from a university
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. degree — an amount

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