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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bark — to shout
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bound — certain
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bound — tied together
  13. snap — to click
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. ground — a position
  16. hand — help
  17. ground — crushed
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bound — obliged
  21. perch — the fish
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. ground — the earth
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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