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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: perch · hand · ground · kick · rock · object · content · rule

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rock — music
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. hand — help
  8. object — to protest
  9. kick — in football
  10. rock — a stone
  11. ground — the earth
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. object — an aim
  14. ground — crushed
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. hand — in cards
  17. rule — a law
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. content — the amount
  21. object — a thing
  22. ground — a position
  23. rule — government
  24. content — happy

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