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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. kid — child
  5. field — a subject
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. field — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. hand — help
  14. bore — to tire
  15. dip — to sink
  16. court — of a king
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. hand — in cards
  19. field — farmland
  20. pound — a weight
  21. bore — to drill
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. court — for sport
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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