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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. scale — in music
  5. bore — to drill
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. can — a tin
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. cold — not warm
  12. fine — all right
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. can — to be able to
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. can — a tin
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. bore — to tire
  21. cold — an illness
  22. saw — the tool
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  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