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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: fine · bark · hide · kid · perch · cold · fan · lie

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. kid — to tease
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. fine — high quality
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bark — to shout
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. kid — child
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cold — not warm
  17. lie — to recline
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. cold — an illness
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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