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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. scale — size or range
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cold — not warm
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — to handle
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. cell — in biology
  14. pound — a weight
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. bore — to tire
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bore — to drill
  21. kid — child
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. kid — to tease

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