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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bore — to tire
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bulb — for light
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bore — to drill
  14. board — a committee
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bulb — for light
  17. kid — child
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wind — moving air
  24. board — to get on

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