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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · straw · bat · racket · bore · bark · shower · rash

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. shower — to wash
  6. rash — a series
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. shower — rain
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. bore — to tire
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bark — to shout
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. chair — a leader
  24. rash — hasty

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