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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 120 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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. foot — a measure
  5. cold — not warm
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. bore — to tire
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — a safe
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bore — to drill
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. fork — in a road
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wake — a trail

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