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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 120 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cold — not warm
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fall — the season
  7. prune — to trim
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. bore — to drill
  14. fall — to drop
  15. club — for golf
  16. wind — moving air
  17. vault — a safe
  18. club — for dancing
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. club — a group
  22. bore — to tire
  23. cold — an illness
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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