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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: pop · kid · lean · mate · drill · field · deal · perch

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. lean — thin
  3. pop — to visit
  4. deal — to handle
  5. drill — the tool
  6. field — a subject
  7. lean — to bend
  8. field — farmland
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pop — music
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. perch — the fish
  14. kid — child
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a partner
  22. pop — soda
  23. field — for sport
  24. mate — a friend

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