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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. bore — to tire
  4. shower — to wash
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. scale — in music
  11. bore — to drill
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. shower — rain
  14. rush — hurry
  15. chip — for betting
  16. cold — an illness
  17. perch — the fish
  18. scale — size or range
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. lean — to bend
  21. chip — to eat
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. lean — thin
  24. cold — the Cold War

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