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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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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: wake · kid · perch · ground · date · bore · bark · toast

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. toast — bread
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bore — to drill
  8. date — the fruit
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. ground — a position
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bore — to tire
  16. ground — crushed
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. ground — the earth
  19. perch — the fish
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bark — to shout
  24. wake — a trail

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