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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bore — to drill
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. fall — to drop
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bat — the animal
  10. march — the month
  11. fall — to drop
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. bore — to tire
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. march — music
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. march — the month
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. fall — the season
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. plane — in geometry

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