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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: file · wake · bark · racket · swing · bat · tear · perch

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. perch — the fish
  5. tear — from crying
  6. file — a tool
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. file — a line of people
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. file — a document
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. tear — to rip
  17. swing — in golf
  18. wake — a trail
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — to shout
  21. tear — from crying
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. swing — music
  24. perch — for a bird

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