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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cold — an illness
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. cold — not warm
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. bore — to drill
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. stem — to come from
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. content — the amount
  17. bore — to tire
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. perch — the fish
  24. pitch — completely

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