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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rock — a stone
  4. board — to get on
  5. rock — music
  6. fall — to drop
  7. kid — child
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. bore — to drill
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. fall — to drop
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bore — to tire
  21. vault — a safe
  22. fall — the season
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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