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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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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: staff · bore · stand · arm · shower · mine · bat · kid

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. kid — to tease
  4. shower — rain
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stand — to bear
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. staff — employees
  11. bore — to tire
  12. kid — child
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. mine — for digging
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. shower — to wash

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