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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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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: rock · bore · mine · race · pitcher · chair · perch · arm

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. perch — the fish
  6. rock — music
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. mine — for digging
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bore — to drill
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. race — a contest
  23. rock — a stone
  24. race — humankind

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