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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. can — a tin
  4. spell — magic
  5. cap — of ice
  6. spell — a short time
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cap — a hat
  9. can — a tin
  10. spell — letters
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bore — to drill
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cap — a lid
  17. can — to be able to
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. file — a document
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. file — a tool
  24. perch — the fish

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