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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bore — to drill
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cell — in biology
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. cold — an illness
  19. perch — the fish
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bore — to tire
  24. cell — a phone

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