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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. game — a match
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bore — to drill
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. foot — a measure
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — to grow
  24. toast — bread

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