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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. tear — from crying
  4. land — ground
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. land — to come down
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bass — low music
  11. land — a country
  12. bore — to drill
  13. spring — the season
  14. kid — child
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. kid — to tease
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. key — for a lock
  21. vault — a safe
  22. tear — from crying
  23. key — the most important part
  24. key — in music

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