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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. can — a tin
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. shower — rain
  9. can — to be able to
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bore — to drill
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. pit — in a race
  16. shower — to wash
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — of a plant
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. can — a tin
  22. pit — a hole
  23. root — the cause
  24. racket — for tennis

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