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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. perch — the fish
  3. lean — thin
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. pop — soda
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. lean — to bend
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. saw — the tool
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pop — music
  19. season — of the year
  20. pop — to visit
  21. season — in sport
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bowl — to roll

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