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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bulb — for light
  3. spring — the season
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. drill — the tool
  9. season — in sport
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. drill — a practice
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. drill — army training
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bulb — for light
  21. season — of the year
  22. bore — to drill
  23. spring — of water
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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