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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. row — a line
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. pit — in a race
  6. bore — to drill
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. season — in sport
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. perch — the fish
  11. season — of the year
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pit — a hole
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bore — to tire
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wound — an injury
  24. game — a match

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