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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. kick — in football
  3. bore — to tire
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. bore — to drill
  7. spring — the season
  8. chest — a box
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fine — high quality
  19. spring — a coil
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fine — all right
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. spring — of water
  24. nail — for a hammer

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