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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. prune — to trim
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. stand — to bear
  8. vault — a safe
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. rash — hasty
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. kid — child
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. roll — a cake
  16. roll — a list
  17. rash — a series
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bore — to drill
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bore — to tire

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