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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: nail · mark · land · saw · squash · perch · kid · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. land — a country
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mark — a trace
  5. squash — the sport
  6. land — ground
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. land — to come down
  11. kid — child
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mark — a grade
  17. perch — the fish
  18. rock — a stone
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. nail — on a finger

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