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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. can — to be able to
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. roll — a cake
  5. can — a tin
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. kick — in football
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bat — the animal
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. saw — the tool
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. can — a tin
  17. saw — the tool
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — the fruit
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. roll — a list
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bore — to tire

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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