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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bore — to drill
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. kid — child
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. rash — hasty
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bore — to tire
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. stand — to bear
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. rash — a series

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