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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. can — to be able to
  5. file — a line of people
  6. present — a gift
  7. perch — the fish
  8. game — wild animals
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bore — to drill
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. clip — a video
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. can — a tin
  15. game — a match
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. present — the time now
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. clip — for paper
  20. can — a tin
  21. file — a tool
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bore — to tire
  24. file — a document

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