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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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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: bark · temple · bear · lie · perch · chest · field · mate

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. lie — to recline
  4. bear — the animal
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mate — a partner
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. field — a subject
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bark — to shout
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bear — the animal
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. field — for sport
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. chest — a box
  22. field — farmland
  23. mate — a friend
  24. lie — an untruth

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