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

Word bank: pit · straw · bat · rock · kick · bore

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. bore — to drill
  6. rock — music
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bore — to tire
  9. pit — a hole
  10. rock — a stone
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. pit — in a race
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. kick — a thrill

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