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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · swing · bark · season · lie · track · file · last

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. last — finally
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. track — a path
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. season — of the year
  10. file — a line of people
  11. track — to keep track
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. swing — in golf
  14. track — a song
  15. last — final
  16. file — a tool
  17. swing — music
  18. bark — to shout
  19. last — to go on
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. swing — to play on
  22. perch — the fish
  23. season — in sport
  24. lie — to recline

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