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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: bat · perch · mouse · craft · rest · band · mine · land

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. craft — boats
  5. land — ground
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. perch — the fish
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. land — a country
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. band — a ring
  16. bat — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. land — to come down
  20. craft — a skill
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. mine — for digging

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