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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 116 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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. club — a group
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. perch — the fish
  5. root — of a plant
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. bore — to drill
  9. march — the month
  10. swing — to play on
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — to eat
  13. root — of a word
  14. march — the month
  15. cell — a phone
  16. root — the cause
  17. march — music
  18. club — for dancing
  19. swing — in golf
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. swing — music
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. club — for golf
  24. cell — in biology

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