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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: perch · hide · stand · hand · arm · wound · fork · file

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. perch — the fish
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. fork — in a road
  8. hand — in cards
  9. stand — to bear
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. file — a tool
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. file — a document
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. file — a line of people
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. hide — animal skin

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