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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — in football
  5. drill — a practice
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bore — to drill
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bat — the animal
  13. shower — rain
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. drill — the tool
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bass — the fish
  18. drill — army training
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bass — low music
  24. arm — part of the body

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