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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. field — for sport
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. wake — a trail
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. pass — a permit
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. bore — to tire
  12. field — farmland
  13. bore — to drill
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. chest — a box
  19. field — a subject
  20. snap — to click
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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