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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.

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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 · cold · perch · deal · swing · root · bear · plane

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. deal — to handle
  3. perch — the fish
  4. root — the cause
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. swing — music
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. swing — to play on
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. root — of a word
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. cold — an illness
  23. root — of a plant
  24. plane — a 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