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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: jam · kick · rush · wake · bat · bore · sharp · band

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bore — to drill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wake — a trail
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. band — a music group
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bat — the animal
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. band — a ring
  21. kick — in football
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. bore — to tire
  24. rush — a thrill

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