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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: straw · kick · temple · land · mouse · perch · field · wave

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. perch — the fish
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. field — a subject
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. land — ground
  12. field — farmland
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. kick — in football
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. field — for sport
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. land — to come down

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