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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: kid · can · perch · hand · mine · march · bear · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. perch — the fish
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bear — the animal
  7. land — to come down
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bear — the animal
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. can — a tin
  12. mine — for digging
  13. hand — help
  14. march — the month
  15. kid — child
  16. can — a tin
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. march — music
  20. can — to be able to
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. kid — to tease
  23. land — a country
  24. march — the month

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