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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: lean · bark · pound · hand · drill · mug · perch · leaves

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. lean — to bend
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. lean — thin
  16. mug — a face
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. drill — army training
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mug — a cup
  21. pound — a weight
  22. bark — to shout
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. mug — to rob

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