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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 120 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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bore — to drill
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. last — to go on
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. chip — to eat
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wax — to grow
  17. last — final
  18. last — finally
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. hand — help
  22. prune — to trim
  23. hand — in cards
  24. perch — the fish

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