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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: kick · club · perch · land · hand · net · fork · row

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. net — after costs
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. land — to come down
  7. net — in sport
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. land — a country
  10. perch — the fish
  11. fork — in a road
  12. row — a line
  13. hand — in cards
  14. club — for golf
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. club — for dancing
  17. row — to paddle
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. club — a group
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. hand — help
  22. kick — in football
  23. net — for catching
  24. land — ground

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