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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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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: chest · can · perch · hide · game · bore · kid · bat

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. game — a match
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. perch — the fish
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. can — a tin
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bat — the animal
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. chest — a box
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — to be able to
  24. bore — to tire

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