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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. chest — a box
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. board — to get on
  9. court — of law
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bore — to tire
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bore — to drill
  15. court — of a king
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. kid — child
  18. chest — of your body
  19. court — for sport
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bulb — for light
  24. board — a committee

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