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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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Word bank
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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: rash · rock · bark · calf · perch · kid · trunk · bat

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bark — to shout
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rock — music
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. rash — a series
  17. rock — a stone
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bat — the animal
  23. rash — on the skin
  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