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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: bark · bat · ground · object · pass · perch · mine · kick

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. object — to protest
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. object — a thing
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. ground — crushed
  11. kick — in football
  12. object — an aim
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bark — to shout
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — a permit
  24. mine — an explosive

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