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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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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. perch — the fish
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. pound — a weight
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. wake — a trail
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. root — of a plant
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. root — of a word
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. root — the cause
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bore — to drill
  19. spell — a short time
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. temple — side of the head

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