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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. club — for dancing
  4. bound — tied together
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. root — of a word
  8. roll — a cake
  9. club — for golf
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. roll — a list
  12. root — the cause
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. root — of a plant
  15. bound — obliged
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. perch — the fish
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bound — certain
  22. club — a group
  23. pitch — completely
  24. bark — to shout

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