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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bore — to tire
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bore — to drill
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bat — the animal
  10. wind — moving air
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. perch — the fish
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. game — a match
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bass — low music
  24. bore — gave birth

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