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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: cap · wind · pitch · shower · track · kick · bore · row

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. row — a line
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. kick — in football
  6. bore — to tire
  7. track — a path
  8. shower — to wash
  9. row — to paddle
  10. wind — moving air
  11. shower — rain
  12. track — a song
  13. track — to keep track
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. cap — of ice
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pitch — completely
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bore — to drill
  24. pitch — a sports field

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