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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bore — to tire
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. chest — a box
  12. stock — shares
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — goods
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. calf — a young animal

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