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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. file — a document
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. swing — in golf
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. swing — music
  20. file — a tool
  21. swing — to play on
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cabinet — ministers

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