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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. chest — a box
  3. object — an aim
  4. bore — to tire
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. rush — hurry
  9. root — of a word
  10. object — to protest
  11. perch — the fish
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bore — to drill
  17. root — the cause
  18. chest — of your body
  19. object — a thing
  20. chest — of your body
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. mine — for digging
  24. root — of a plant

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