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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. mate — a partner
  5. lean — thin
  6. drill — a practice
  7. mate — to breed
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. mate — a friend
  11. drill — army training
  12. game — a match
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bore — to drill
  16. lean — to bend
  17. drill — the tool
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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