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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bore — to tire
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. tear — from crying
  7. snap — to click
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. swing — in golf
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. vault — a safe
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. hand — in cards
  14. swing — music
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. swing — to play on
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. tear — to rip
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bore — to drill
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. hand — help

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