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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. drill — a practice
  8. kid — to tease
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. drill — army training
  12. game — wild animals
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. cap — a lid
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — a match
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. cap — a hat
  22. vault — a safe
  23. cap — of ice
  24. drill — the tool

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