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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. perch — the fish
  3. key — the most important part
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. root — of a word
  6. key — in music
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. scale — in music
  10. key — for a lock
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rock — music
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rock — a stone
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. root — of a plant
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. root — the cause
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rush — hurry
  22. cold — an illness
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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