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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. track — a song
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mark — a trace
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. hand — help
  12. perch — the fish
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. track — a path
  15. chest — of your body
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. track — to keep track
  19. snap — to click
  20. bore — to drill
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. ground — a position
  23. mark — a grade
  24. ground — the earth

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