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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · drill · lean · perch · court · bark · mouse · leaves

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. drill — the tool
  7. lean — to bend
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. drill — a practice
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. land — to come down
  13. court — of a king
  14. land — ground
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. court — for sport
  17. drill — army training
  18. court — of law
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. land — a country

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