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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 120 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: hand · mate · kid · rash · land · pop · bound · perch

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bound — certain
  4. land — a country
  5. mate — a friend
  6. perch — the fish
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — music
  10. mate — a partner
  11. kid — child
  12. bound — tied together
  13. pop — soda
  14. land — to come down
  15. hand — in cards
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. land — ground
  19. kid — to tease
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bound — obliged
  22. mate — to breed
  23. rash — a series
  24. hand — help

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