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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bore — to tire
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. content — happy
  5. land — ground
  6. snap — to click
  7. perch — the fish
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. land — to come down
  11. bore — to drill
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — the arms race
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. land — a country
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. race — a contest
  22. content — the amount
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. calf — a young animal

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