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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: bound · vault · bore · rash · perch · jam · cold · fall

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. bore — to tire
  5. rash — hasty
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bound — obliged
  10. vault — a safe
  11. bound — tied together
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bore — to drill
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. fall — the season
  18. rash — a series
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fall — to drop
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. bound — certain
  24. jam — in traffic

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