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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. mine — for digging
  3. roll — a cake
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bore — to tire
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. charge — electricity
  9. charge — a price
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bore — to drill
  13. roll — a list
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. row — to paddle
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. charge — in control
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. row — a line
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. roll — on a roll

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