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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: arm · pit · wound · present · chest · shower · bore · lie

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bore — to drill
  3. shower — to wash
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. present — the time now
  7. chest — of your body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to tire
  14. lie — to recline
  15. shower — rain
  16. chest — a box
  17. pit — a hole
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. pit — in a race
  21. wound — an injury
  22. present — a gift
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wound — an injury

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