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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bore — to drill
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. fork — in a road
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. snap — to click
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mug — a cup
  14. bat — the animal
  15. field — a subject
  16. mug — a face
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. shower — to wash
  19. mug — to rob
  20. field — for sport
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. field — farmland
  23. shower — rain
  24. mouse — the animal

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