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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. vault — a safe
  3. pop — to visit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bore — to tire
  8. march — the month
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. march — music
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. march — the month
  14. sharp — clever
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — soda
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. prune — to trim
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. shower — rain
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. prune — the fruit

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