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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bore — to drill
  3. object — to protest
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. game — a match
  7. object — an aim
  8. scale — in music
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chest — of your body
  12. club — for golf
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. object — a thing
  16. club — a group
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. bore — to tire
  20. kick — in football
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. scale — size or range

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