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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. root — of a word
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. vault — a safe
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. club — a group
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. root — the cause
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. bore — to tire
  14. field — farmland
  15. club — for golf
  16. field — a subject
  17. root — of a plant
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. club — for dancing
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. wind — moving air
  22. field — for sport
  23. wind — moving air
  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