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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. vault — a safe
  4. object — to protest
  5. ball — a great time
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. clip — a video
  9. spell — letters
  10. cue — a signal
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. cue — a hint
  14. bore — to drill
  15. cue — for pool
  16. clip — to cut
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — an aim
  19. ball — a dance
  20. spell — magic
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. spell — a short time
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. tear — from crying

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