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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to drill
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bore — to tire
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. game — a match
  14. bound — tied together
  15. game — wild animals
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bat — the animal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. shower — rain
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bound — obliged

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