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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bore — to tire
  5. last — finally
  6. perch — the fish
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. rash — a series
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. chest — a box
  12. staff — employees
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chest — of your body
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. last — to go on
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. rash — hasty
  19. chair — a leader
  20. last — final
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. staff — a stick
  23. chest — of your body
  24. staff — employees

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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