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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. bore — to tire
  7. vault — a safe
  8. tube — the underground
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cold — an illness
  11. last — final
  12. spell — letters
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. spell — a short time
  15. last — to go on
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. spell — magic
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. nail — on a finger

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