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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. root — of a word
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. kid — child
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. bore — to tire
  11. game — a match
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — the animal
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. kid — to tease
  16. root — the cause
  17. root — of a plant
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. cell — in biology
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cell — a phone
  24. game — wild animals

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