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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cold — an illness
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bear — the animal
  7. cue — a hint
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. cue — a signal
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. present — there
  14. stock — goods
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. cue — for pool
  17. present — the time now
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. present — a gift
  20. perch — the fish
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bore — to drill
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — a soup base

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