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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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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. race — a contest
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pit — a hole
  10. bore — to tire
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. race — humankind
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bore — to drill
  16. pit — in a race
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. hand — help
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. race — the arms race
  22. date — the fruit
  23. hand — in cards
  24. date — on the calendar

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