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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. chip — to eat
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rest — a break
  6. kick — in football
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. hand — in cards
  10. chip — for betting
  11. perch — the fish
  12. degree — from a university
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. hand — help
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. rush — hurry
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. degree — an amount
  24. rest — what's left

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