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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: file · perch · patient · kid · dip · spell · bark · pop

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — magic
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. kid — to tease
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — music
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bark — to shout
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. file — a line of people
  17. spell — a short time
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. file — a document
  20. kid — child
  21. file — a tool
  22. dip — to sink
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. perch — the fish

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