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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. squash — the sport
  8. stock — goods
  9. bore — to drill
  10. vault — a safe
  11. stock — shares
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. shower — to wash
  14. squash — to crush
  15. pit — a hole
  16. saw — the tool
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. pit — in a race
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bore — to tire
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. shower — rain
  24. toast — the most admired

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