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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. mug — a face
  8. row — to paddle
  9. vault — a safe
  10. row — a line
  11. bark — to shout
  12. present — a gift
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. mug — a cup
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. mug — to rob
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wind — moving air
  21. present — the time now
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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