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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: march · file · chest · bore · perch · degree · tear · cue

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  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. cue — a hint
  2. chest — a box
  3. cue — a signal
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. file — a line of people
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bore — to drill
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cue — for pool
  12. chest — of your body
  13. degree — an amount
  14. march — music
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. degree — temperature
  20. file — a document
  21. bore — to tire
  22. perch — the fish
  23. file — a tool
  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