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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. object — an aim
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pit — a hole
  6. bore — to tire
  7. drill — army training
  8. chest — of your body
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — a thing
  11. date — the fruit
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pit — in a race
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bore — to drill
  20. chest — a box
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. drill — a practice
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. drill — the tool

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