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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bore — to tire
  5. capital — money
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. cold — an illness
  11. vault — a safe
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. spell — a short time
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. scale — size or range
  18. spell — magic
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. scale — in music
  23. capital — a city
  24. spell — letters

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