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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bore — to tire
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. pitch — completely
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. swing — to play on
  10. drill — the tool
  11. swing — music
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. mine — for digging
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — of the year
  17. bore — to drill
  18. drill — army training
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. season — in sport
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. leaves — to go away

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