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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. wind — moving air
  3. drill — army training
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bore — to tire
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. cell — a phone
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. stock — shares
  13. cell — in biology
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. drill — a practice
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. perch — the fish
  19. game — a match
  20. stock — goods
  21. wind — moving air
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bore — to drill
  24. drill — the tool

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