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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: craft · bat · pound · bark · kid · branch · mate · perch

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. mate — to breed
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. branch — a division
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. pound — a weight
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. craft — boats
  13. bark — to shout
  14. mate — a friend
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. mate — a partner

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