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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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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 · mine · bark · chip · bear · kid · row · present

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. kid — child
  12. bear — the animal
  13. chip — to eat
  14. row — a line
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. present — a gift
  17. bear — the animal
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. present — the time now
  20. row — to paddle
  21. perch — the fish
  22. chip — for betting
  23. present — there
  24. mine — for digging

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