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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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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: lean · temple · rash · craft · kid · pound · drill · perch

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. perch — the fish
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. kid — to tease
  5. lean — to bend
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. lean — thin
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. kid — child
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. craft — a skill
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. rash — hasty
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. drill — the tool
  20. pound — a weight
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. rash — a series
  23. craft — boats
  24. pound — for dogs

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