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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. perch — the fish
  18. cell — in biology
  19. row — a line
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. lie — to recline
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cap — of ice
  24. row — to paddle

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