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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. mine — for digging
  3. march — the month
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. branch — a division
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — magic
  9. bore — to drill
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. march — music
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. dip — to sink
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. march — the month
  21. vault — a safe
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. dip — a sauce

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