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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. land — ground
  4. foot — a measure
  5. hand — help
  6. land — a country
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. land — to come down
  16. shower — rain
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. bore — to tire
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bat — 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