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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 116 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 ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. bore — gave birth
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. cold — not warm
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. snap — to click
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — a division
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bore — to tire
  19. vault — a safe
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. press — to push
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cold — an illness
  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