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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. bore — to drill
  3. cell — a phone
  4. clip — to cut
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. foot — a measure
  11. drill — army training
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bore — to tire
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. drill — the tool
  22. chest — a box
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. fork — in a road

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