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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 116 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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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: mouse · mine · craft · fall · perch · kid · lean · ground

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. craft — a skill
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. ground — a position
  10. fall — the season
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. lean — to bend
  14. kid — child
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. perch — the fish
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. lean — thin
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. kid — to tease

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