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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: kid · present · swing · race · bore · pitch · file · dip

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — to sink
  4. present — there
  5. bore — to drill
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bore — to tire
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — the arms race
  12. present — a gift
  13. swing — music
  14. file — a tool
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. kid — child
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. present — the time now
  19. race — humankind
  20. pitch — completely
  21. file — a document
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. file — a line of people

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