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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. spring — the season
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bound — tied together
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. capital — a city
  7. bound — certain
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. land — a country
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. land — ground
  13. spring — a coil
  14. kid — child
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. land — to come down
  17. bore — to tire
  18. perch — the fish
  19. capital — money
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. kid — to tease
  23. spring — of water
  24. bound — obliged

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