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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. sharp — clever
  7. can — to be able to
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. last — final
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. kid — child
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. perch — the fish
  19. can — a tin
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — to tire
  22. can — a tin
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bay — a horse colour

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