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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. file — a tool
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a document
  8. chair — a leader
  9. pass — a permit
  10. shower — rain
  11. bound — obliged
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bore — to tire
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bore — to drill
  23. perch — the fish
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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