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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mug · bark · track · saw · face · arm · clip · perch

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. mug — to rob
  3. bark — to shout
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. track — to keep track
  7. clip — a video
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. track — a path
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mug — a face
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. track — a song
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. clip — to cut
  20. saw — the tool
  21. mug — a cup
  22. face — part of the head
  23. perch — the fish
  24. saw — the tool

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