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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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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: ground · mine · can · perch · sharp · shower · kick · net

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. net — for catching
  3. ground — crushed
  4. perch — the fish
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — to be able to
  7. mine — for digging
  8. shower — to wash
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. ground — a position
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. kick — in football
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. net — in sport
  18. sharp — clever
  19. net — after costs
  20. ground — the earth
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. can — a tin
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. shower — rain

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