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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. kid — child
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. spell — magic
  10. bass — low music
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. spell — a short time
  14. kid — to tease
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pound — a weight
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. spell — letters
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bore — to tire
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. pound — for dogs

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