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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: rest · perch · bark · stand · pound · hand · straw · kid

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. rest — what's left
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bark — to shout
  9. stand — to bear
  10. hand — help
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. perch — the fish
  13. hand — in cards
  14. kid — to tease
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. kid — child
  18. rest — what's left
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. pound — a weight

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