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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. lean — thin
  4. saw — the tool
  5. tube — the underground
  6. degree — from a university
  7. clip — a video
  8. bore — to tire
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. bore — to drill
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. degree — temperature
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. degree — an amount
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. clip — for paper
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. tube — a container
  22. saw — the tool
  23. clip — to cut
  24. toast — bread

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