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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. rock — music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bore — to drill
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. rock — a stone
  20. hand — help
  21. chair — a leader
  22. wake — a trail
  23. kick — in football
  24. chair — a professorship

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