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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.

Words on the sheet
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: bark · march · chest · bore · date · rash · kick · court

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. rash — hasty
  4. court — of law
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. rash — a series
  8. bore — to drill
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. court — for sport
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bark — to shout
  14. march — the month
  15. bore — to tire
  16. kick — in football
  17. court — of a king
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. date — the fruit
  20. march — the month
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. march — music
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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