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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 124 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: kid · perch · root · mouse · squash · trunk · file · tear

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. tear — from crying
  4. kid — to tease
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. kid — child
  7. squash — the sport
  8. file — a line of people
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. file — a document
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. root — of a plant
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. root — the cause
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. squash — to crush
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. root — of a word
  24. file — a tool

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