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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 120 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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. perch — the fish
  3. field — farmland
  4. bore — to drill
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. row — a line
  13. snap — to click
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. field — for sport
  16. bore — to tire
  17. prune — to trim
  18. field — a subject
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. prune — to trim
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. row — to paddle

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