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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: perch · key · bore · lean · sharp · straw · spring · bark

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. spring — a coil
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. spring — of water
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. lean — thin
  9. bark — to shout
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bore — to tire
  15. key — the most important part
  16. sharp — clever
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. key — in music
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. spring — the season
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. key — for a lock

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