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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. vault — a safe
  4. cap — of ice
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bore — to drill
  12. cap — a hat
  13. kid — child
  14. capital — a city
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. file — a tool
  17. cap — a lid
  18. file — a line of people
  19. kid — to tease
  20. file — a document
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. kick — in football
  23. capital — money
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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