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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: bore · ball · cell · rest · wound · land · lie · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. ball — a great time
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. wound — an injury
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. rest — what's left
  11. land — ground
  12. cell — in biology
  13. lie — to recline
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rest — what's left
  16. land — to come down
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ball — a dance
  19. cell — a phone
  20. rest — a break
  21. perch — the fish
  22. bore — to tire
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. land — a country

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