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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: swing · snap · field · hide · kid · bore · safe · bat

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bore — to drill
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — to tease
  6. swing — to play on
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. swing — music
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. field — farmland
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. kid — child
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. snap — to click
  18. field — for sport
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. field — a subject

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