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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. cue — a signal
  3. dip — to sink
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bore — to tire
  6. cue — a hint
  7. chair — a leader
  8. kid — to tease
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. kid — child
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. cue — for pool
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. field — farmland
  24. calf — a young 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