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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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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: wound · pound · net · ruler · kid · perch · land · hand

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. perch — the fish
  3. pound — a weight
  4. net — for catching
  5. wound — an injury
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. land — ground
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. land — a country
  11. net — in sport
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. hand — help
  14. land — to come down
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. net — after costs
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wound — an injury
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pound — for dogs

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