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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: kid · last · march · lean · cabinet · roll · perch · pound

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. perch — the fish
  3. lean — thin
  4. roll — a cake
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. lean — to bend
  7. pound — a weight
  8. kid — child
  9. last — to go on
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. march — music
  12. roll — a list
  13. last — finally
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. march — the month
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. last — final
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. kid — to tease
  22. march — the month
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cabinet — ministers

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