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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: kid · bat · bear · track · bore · bowl · ground · straw

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. ground — the earth
  9. kid — child
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. kid — to tease
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. track — a path
  14. track — to keep track
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. ground — a position
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. track — a song
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bore — to drill

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