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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bore — to tire
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. date — the fruit
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. court — for sport
  15. mark — a grade
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. mark — a trace
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — of law
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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