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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. hand — help
  3. pit — a hole
  4. squash — to crush
  5. court — of a king
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bore — to drill
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. court — for sport
  14. squash — the sport
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. court — of law
  17. pit — in a race
  18. shower — rain
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. rush — hurry
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. shower — to wash

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