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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bore — to tire
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kick — in football
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. shower — rain
  11. vault — a safe
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. chest — a box
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. bore — gave birth

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