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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. scale — in music
  3. scale — size or range
  4. root — of a word
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bore — to drill
  7. land — ground
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. chest — a box
  13. perch — the fish
  14. chest — of your body
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. chest — of your body
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — the cause
  20. bore — to tire
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. bore — gave birth

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