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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. kid — child
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. row — a line
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to drill
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. fine — all right
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. row — to paddle
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fine — high quality
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. perch — the fish
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bark — of a tree

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