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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: chest · perch · leaves · tube · bore · rock · clip · stock

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. rock — music
  5. tube — a container
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. tube — the underground
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — to drill
  11. stock — shares
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stock — goods
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. rock — a stone
  21. chest — of your body
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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