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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. roll — a list
  5. plane — a tool
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. bore — to tire
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bat — the animal
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. pound — a weight
  24. roll — on a roll

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