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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 116 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. kid — child
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. hand — help
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. bore — to drill
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. kid — to tease
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. row — a line
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bore — to tire
  24. hand — in cards

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