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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 · bear · perch · wake · game · vault · bay · cold

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. wake — a trail
  23. game — a match
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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