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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. stem — to come from
  8. vault — a safe
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. last — final
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. last — finally
  16. season — of the year
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bore — to drill
  20. perch — the fish
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. last — to go on
  24. season — in sport

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