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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 116 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — to tire
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. mine — for digging
  10. court — of a king
  11. spring — a coil
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. spring — of water
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. wax — to grow
  16. perch — the fish
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. spring — the season
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. band — a ring
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. band — a music group
  24. row — a line

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