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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. object — a thing
  5. object — an aim
  6. chair — a leader
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. spring — the season
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bark — to shout
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. spring — of water
  19. tear — to rip
  20. perch — the fish
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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