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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bound — obliged
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. cold — an illness
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bound — tied together
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. wake — a trail
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. cold — not warm
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bound — certain
  23. stem — to come from
  24. dip — to sink

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