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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. mark — a trace
  3. saw — the tool
  4. perch — the fish
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mark — a grade
  7. kid — to tease
  8. spring — of water
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. season — of the year
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. kid — child
  14. spring — a coil
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. saw — the tool
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. season — in sport
  21. bore — to drill
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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