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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 120 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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bore — to drill
  7. shower — to wash
  8. tear — from crying
  9. march — the month
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. chest — of your body
  15. tear — from crying
  16. shower — rain
  17. tear — to rip
  18. march — music
  19. chest — of your body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bore — to tire
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. march — the month
  24. prune — the fruit

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