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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 taking a ________________ right now.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bore — to tire
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mug — to rob
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. court — for sport
  8. pit — in a race
  9. net — for catching
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. court — of law
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. bore — to drill
  15. mug — a face
  16. net — after costs
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. court — of a king
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. net — in sport
  23. shower — rain
  24. pit — a hole

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