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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. chest — of your body
  3. field — farmland
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. field — a subject
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. drill — the tool
  9. wax — to grow
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. drill — army training
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. field — for sport
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bore — to tire
  16. can — a tin
  17. drill — a practice
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bore — to drill
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. can — to be able to
  23. can — a tin
  24. chest — a box

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