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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 · band · saw · pass · roll · spring · trunk · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. saw — the tool
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. saw — the tool
  7. band — a ring
  8. spring — of water
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. roll — a list
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. pass — a permit
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. spring — the season
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. perch — the fish
  21. spring — a coil
  22. roll — a cake
  23. bark — to shout
  24. band — a music group

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