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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 had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. file — a line of people
  8. row — a line
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. chest — a box
  11. bore — to tire
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. ball — a dance
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. chest — of your body
  18. ball — a great time
  19. chest — of your body
  20. file — a document
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. kid — child
  23. file — a tool
  24. bore — to drill

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