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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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. track — a song
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bore — to drill
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bore — to tire
  10. track — a path
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. pitch — completely
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. fork — in a road
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — to grow
  24. fork — to eat with

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