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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. file — a tool
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bore — to tire
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. date — the fruit
  9. file — a document
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. perch — the fish
  14. bore — to drill
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. file — a line of people
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. sharp — with an edge

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