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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: ruler · bear · cold · clip · perch · bore · mine · net

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cold — not warm
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bear — the animal
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bore — to tire
  13. cold — an illness
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — in sport
  16. bear — the animal
  17. perch — the fish
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. clip — a video
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. net — after costs

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