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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. bore — to drill
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. branch — a division
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bore — to tire
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. track — a song
  15. cue — for pool
  16. track — a path
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. track — to keep track
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. cue — a signal
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. cue — a hint

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