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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stem — to come from
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. bore — to tire
  9. land — ground
  10. bore — to drill
  11. stock — shares
  12. rock — music
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. rock — a stone
  16. land — a country
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. land — to come down
  20. stock — goods
  21. net — after costs
  22. kid — to tease
  23. perch — the fish
  24. stock — a soup base

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