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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · cold · mine · bore · perch · content · straw · safe

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. perch — the fish
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. mine — for digging
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. content — the amount
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — to drill
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. content — happy
  19. rule — a law
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rule — government
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. perch — for a bird

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