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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.

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: wake · tear · bore · perch · mine · bat · chair · spring

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bore — to tire
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. wake — a trail
  6. spring — of water
  7. tear — from crying
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. spring — the season
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. tear — from crying
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bore — to drill
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. bat — the animal

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