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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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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: trunk · hide · march · pitcher · perch · spell · bark · rush

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. spell — a short time
  5. march — the month
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. perch — the fish
  8. rush — hurry
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spell — magic
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. march — music
  20. bark — to shout
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. spell — letters
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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