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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. file — a tool
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. rock — music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. pound — a weight
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. scale — in music
  14. bore — to drill
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. file — a document
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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