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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · tear · bore · present · pitch · kick

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. bat — the animal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pitch — completely
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. kick — in football
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. present — a gift
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bore — to tire
  15. present — there
  16. present — the time now
  17. bore — to drill
  18. pitch — a sports field

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