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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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. saw — the tool
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. clip — to cut
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. season — in sport
  9. clip — for paper
  10. court — of law
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. season — of the year
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — to tire
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. clip — a video
  18. court — of a king
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. saw — the tool
  21. court — for sport
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. vault — a safe

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