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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — a gift
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bore — to tire
  5. chest — of your body
  6. land — ground
  7. present — the time now
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. land — to come down
  10. bat — the animal
  11. chest — a box
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. chest — of your body
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. shower — to wash
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. shower — rain
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. bore — to drill
  24. land — a country

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