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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bore — to tire
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. club — for dancing
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. club — a group
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bore — to drill
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bass — low music
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a city
  22. perch — the fish
  23. field — a subject
  24. club — for golf

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