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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bore — to drill
  3. vault — a safe
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. last — final
  9. bore — to tire
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. roll — a cake
  13. last — finally
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. roll — a list
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. game — a match
  24. trunk — of a tree

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