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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: perch · hide · ground · row · track · pit · bore · bat

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. ground — a position
  5. bore — to drill
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. row — a line
  11. track — to keep track
  12. bat — the animal
  13. row — to paddle
  14. pit — a hole
  15. track — a path
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. ground — the earth
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. perch — the fish
  23. track — a song
  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