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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bore — to tire
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. kid — child
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bore — to drill
  9. pitch — completely
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. date — the fruit
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bore — gave birth

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