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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. perch — the fish
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. fall — the season
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bore — to tire
  8. sharp — clever
  9. court — for sport
  10. bore — to drill
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. court — of law
  13. fall — to drop
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. land — to come down
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. land — a country
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. fall — to drop
  21. land — ground
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. court — of a king
  24. wave — of the sea

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