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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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Word bank
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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 · chest · kick · club · drill · spell · root · bore

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. drill — a practice
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. root — the cause
  5. club — for dancing
  6. drill — army training
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. spell — letters
  9. bat — the animal
  10. root — of a word
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. spell — a short time
  13. root — of a plant
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spell — magic
  20. club — for golf
  21. bore — to tire
  22. club — a group
  23. drill — the tool
  24. chest — a box

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