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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 120 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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — to drill
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bass — low music
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. kick — in football
  8. fall — the season
  9. sharp — clever
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cue — a signal
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bass — the fish
  14. cue — a hint
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. fall — to drop
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cue — for pool
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — exactly

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