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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. present — a gift
  3. fall — to drop
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. sharp — clever
  7. branch — a division
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fall — the season
  11. present — the time now
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. present — there
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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