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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: dip · court · kick · sharp · arm · shower · chest · bore

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. court — for sport
  5. shower — to wash
  6. chest — of your body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. kick — in football
  9. chest — of your body
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. court — of law
  13. dip — to sink
  14. bore — to tire
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. chest — a box
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. shower — rain
  22. court — of a king
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bore — gave birth

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