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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 116 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. cold — not warm
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bore — to drill
  6. spell — letters
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. spell — magic
  11. cue — for pool
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cue — a signal
  16. vault — a safe
  17. spell — a short time
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cue — a hint
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bore — to tire
  22. fall — to drop
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. sharp — exactly

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