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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pop — music
  3. shower — rain
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bore — to tire
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bore — to drill
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. kid — to tease
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. swing — in golf
  12. shower — to wash
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pop — to visit
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. pop — soda
  21. mine — for digging
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — to play on

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