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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. spring — a coil
  3. rest — a break
  4. rest — what's left
  5. chair — a leader
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — of water
  8. mate — a friend
  9. bore — to drill
  10. mate — a partner
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mate — to breed
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bore — to tire

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