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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: row · bore · prune · scale · kid · mine · perch · sharp

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mine — for digging
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bore — to tire
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bore — to drill
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. prune — to trim
  17. sharp — clever
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — in music
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. kid — to tease
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. perch — the fish
  24. kid — child

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