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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. board — to get on
  3. bore — to drill
  4. prune — to trim
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. board — a committee
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. row — a line
  15. cold — not warm
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. cell — in biology
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. vault — a safe
  20. row — to paddle
  21. cell — a phone
  22. bore — to tire
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. board — a flat piece

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