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

Word bank: bore · bat · rest · band · kid · stem · safe · perch

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to drill
  7. stem — to come from
  8. band — a ring
  9. kid — child
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bat — the animal
  14. band — a music group
  15. rest — a break
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bore — to tire
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. stem — a stem cell

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