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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. tear — from crying
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. pit — in a race
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. pit — a hole
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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