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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. perch — the fish
  3. field — a subject
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bear — the animal
  6. field — farmland
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. kid — child
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. roll — a cake
  11. field — for sport
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bore — to drill
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. roll — a list
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bore — to tire
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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