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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. land — to come down
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. file — a tool
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. bore — to drill
  15. cold — not warm
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. perch — the fish
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bore — to tire
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mouse — the animal

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