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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: perch · bark · spell · mouse · wound · kid · racket · chair

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. kid — to tease
  4. chair — a leader
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. spell — letters
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. spell — magic
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wound — an injury
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. kid — child
  19. wound — an injury
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. spell — a short time
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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