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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. suit — clothes
  5. chest — of your body
  6. spring — the season
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bore — to drill
  9. suit — to fit
  10. track — a song
  11. kid — child
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. spring — of water
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. suit — in cards
  17. bore — to tire
  18. track — a path
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bowl — a football final

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