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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 · bear · fall · present · perch · land · straw · kick

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. perch — the fish
  3. bear — the animal
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — to tease
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. present — the time now
  11. fall — the season
  12. bear — the animal
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. land — a country
  15. kick — in football
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fall — to drop
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. present — there
  24. kid — child

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