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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  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. pop — soda
  2. vault — a safe
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. drill — the tool
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — rain
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pit — a hole
  11. bore — to tire
  12. pit — in a race
  13. drill — army training
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bore — to drill
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. pop — to visit
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. pop — music
  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