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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 120 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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. court — of law
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. chest — a box
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. bore — to drill
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bore — to tire
  16. hand — help
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. court — of a king
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. court — for sport
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. racket — a loud noise

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