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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. scale — in music
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rash — hasty
  6. mate — a partner
  7. scale — size or range
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. cap — a hat
  10. mate — a friend
  11. rash — a series
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. cap — a lid
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. shower — rain
  20. bore — to drill
  21. vault — a safe
  22. mate — to breed
  23. bore — to tire
  24. rash — on the skin

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