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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bore — to tire
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. court — of a king
  6. bore — to drill
  7. staff — a stick
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. perch — the fish
  10. court — of law
  11. cold — an illness
  12. kid — to tease
  13. stem — to come from
  14. staff — employees
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. file — a document
  17. court — for sport
  18. file — a tool
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. kid — child
  22. staff — employees
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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